Deceased attorney under investigation over missing money

Nov. 02--WATERLOO -- An attorney at a prominent Waterloo firm who died in September is at the center of a probe over missing money, according to court records.

Last week, a Waverly family filed a claim against David Alan Roth's estate, seeking more than $64,000 he allegedly pocketed after promising to invest proceeds from a life insurance policy following a fatal accident.

"If the allegations are true, it's a tragedy," said attorney Thomas Houser, who is handling Roth's estate. "I don't have any basis to know if those allegations are accurate. We are just in the infancy of the administration of the estate."

Officials at the firm where Roth practiced, Gallagher, Langlas and Gallagher, declined to comment.

"I can't really talk about that," Edward "E.J." Gallagher III said. He said the firm has legal counsel in the matter.

Attorney David Engelbrecht, who is representing the Schneider family of Waverly, couldn't be reached for comment.

Roth, 51, had been with Gallagher, Langlas and Gallagher since 1992, a year after finishing law school at Drake. He became the registering agent for the law firm in February 2004, and at the time of his death was the firm's president and secretary, according to filings with the Iowa Secretary of State. He handled family law as well as personal injury, criminal and insurance cases, according to the group's website.

On the afternoon of Sept. 22, Roth sent a text message to a friend indicating he was going to do something to himself, and he was found later that day at his Hudson home, according to his death certificate. His death was ruled suicide by hanging, which the medical examiner said was a consequence of depression.

His death came about a month after he allegedly took money from the family of Adam Schneider, according to a claim Engelbrecht submitted in Roth's estate.

The claim alleges fraud and malpractice on the part of Roth.

"Decedent (Roth) simply stole the funds from claimant for his own personal use," the claim states.

Schneider, 26, and his father, Rick, 49, operated a family milling business in Waverly. Both men died in March 2013 when they were overcome by high level of carbon monoxide inside a grain bin where a small fire had been smoldering.

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Deceased attorney under investigation over missing money