Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Ex-Kentucky lawyer sentenced to 8 years in prison over stolen $1.3 million

by Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal

A now-disbarred Kentucky attorney was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday and ordered to pay back nearly $1.3 million to former clients from whom he stole to pay gambling debts.

Danny Butler, 72, pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud in December 2018 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers sentenced Butler to the prison term as well as two years of supervised release. 


Butler admitted that between 2009 and 2016 he stole money from estates and took money for legal work he didn't do. 

Butler practiced in Greensburg but had victims in several counties. The largest loss to a single client was $401,000. There were 11 victims in total. 

He used some of the stolen funds to pay for about $1.5 million in gambling losses.

Six of Butler's victims, who are identified by their initials in federal court records, have received partial reimbursement from the Kentucky Bar Association's Clients' Security Fund. 

Those reimbursements are capped at $50,000 per claim, with a total cap per attorney of $150,000.

Court records show the fund has paid out about $113,000. 

Butler, who began practicing in 1973, has a long disciplinary history including four private admonitions and a private reprimand, according to the Kentucky Supreme Court. 

The Courier Journal previously reported that his scheme unraveled when two brothers awaiting proceeds of an estate contacted authorities about Butler's continued excuses for not giving them their money.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. States Attorneys Bryan Calhoun and Nicole Elver. The FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Kentucky State Police investigated. 

Full Article & Source:
Ex-Kentucky lawyer sentenced to 8 years in prison over stolen $1.3 million

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