Disbarred Tulsa attorney sentenced to prison after admitting to stealing nearly $600,000 from a client

Glenn Martin Mirando

A disbarred Tulsa attorney was sentenced Wednesday to nearly three years in prison after admitting to bank fraud tied to the theft of nearly $600,000 from a client for whom he was a court-appointed guardian.

U.S. District Judge John Dowdell handed Glenn Martin Mirando a prison term of two years and nine months, saying his crimes warranted a “substantial sentence of imprisonment.”

Dowdell also ordered Mirando to make restitution totaling $589,393 and serve five years of post-custody supervision under the U.S. Probation Office.

Federal prosecutors had filed a two-count complaint in June alleging that the 64-year-old stole the $589,393 through unauthorized cash withdrawals from his client between 2013 and 2016. Mirando pleaded guilty Sept. 4.

The theft occurred after a state court judge appointed Mirando as the guardian for the 66-year-old woman and her estate in 2012.

As guardian, Mirando controlled the woman’s financial accounts, including an Individual Retirement Account with funds totaling nearly $1.3 million, plus checking accounts, court records indicate. The woman was incapacitated at the time, according to federal prosecutors.

Mirando used the stolen funds to support his lifestyle and that of his family members, prosecutors said.

“Mirando chose to violate and abuse both his position of trust as a formerly licensed attorney and his position of trust as a court appointed guardian for the victim of this horrible fraud,” U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said in a statement.

“Embezzling almost $600,000 from a vulnerable individual who was receiving medical treatment in order to maintain an extravagant personal lifestyle for himself and his family is inexcusable,” Shores said.

“Even more egregious, Mirando used his skills as an attorney to conceal the theft for three years by laundering the proceeds of the bank fraud scheme through the movement of cash between multiple bank accounts,” the prosecutor continued.

Mirando made 306 cash withdrawals from the woman’s financial accounts, depositing the money into his personal account, his business account and his wife’s personal account, and used the money to pay personal expenses, according to a court filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles McLoughlin said during the sentencing hearing in Tulsa federal court that Mirando’s actions were “incredibly premeditated.”

Mirando “step-by-step looted” the woman’s inheritance, he said.

A presentencing report by the U.S. Probation Office found that Mirando should receive a prison term between 41 and 51 months under federal sentencing guidelines.

However, papers filed on Mirando’s behalf asked the judge to take into account his age, “long-ago addiction issues” and past history of cancer when deciding a sentence.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office asked that Mirando be sentenced within the guideline range.

“Mirando does not need a ‘0’ month sentence with supervised release, instead he requires the strong sanction of a sentence of incarceration with the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the sentencing guideline range of 41-51 months,” a prosecutor wrote.

Dowdell, citing Mirando’s health problems, agreed to the shorter 33-month prison term.

Mirando apologized to the judge and victim for his actions.

“I take full responsibility,” he said. “Those were my actions. My actions were horrendous.”

Mirando previously had colon cancer, which has been adequately treated, according to the court filing on his behalf.

A doctor has recommended that Mirando be subject to ongoing monitoring to ensure that “the life threatening cancer does not return or get worse,” the court filing states.

“Counsel has no reason to believe that the Bureau of Prisons is in any way capable of performing these medical tests, even if they had any interest in doing so,” Mirando’s attorney, Allen Smallwood, wrote.

However, regarding Mirando’s concerns that he would not be monitored for a recurrence of cancer, McLoughlin wrote that the defendant had provided no evidence that the Bureau of Prisons was incapable of meeting his medical needs.

Mirando, who has been free on bond since the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the two-count felony information, was ordered to report to prison by May 23. Dowdell indicated that he would recommend that federal Bureau of Prisons officials assign Mirando to a facility with a hospital, either in Springfield, Missouri, or in Fort Worth, Texas.

Mirando also faces state charges in Tulsa County District Court stemming from the same conduct. McLoughlin said it was his understanding that those charges might be dismissed depending on the outcome of the federal case.

Mirando was disbarred in 2016, McLoughlin said.

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Disbarred Tulsa attorney sentenced to prison after admitting to stealing nearly $600,000 from a client