Attorney again charged with theft as trial nears

by Tena Lee

Andy Allman

A Hendersonville attorney scheduled to go to trial next week for stealing money from several clients was booked into jail on Monday on an additional theft charge.

Andy Allman, 50, was indicted by a Sumner County grand jury on charges of theft of more than $10,000 and falsely representing himself as a lawyer, according to court documents filed March 5. He was arrested March 9, and is being held on a $2.5 million bond.

A once popular attorney and former candidate for state representative, Allman was temporarily suspended by the Supreme Court of Tennessee’s Board of Professional Responsibility in September 2016 after complaints of misconduct and the misappropriation of funds. He was disbarred from practicing law in 2018.

His arrest comes exactly one week before a jury trial is set to begin in Sumner County Criminal Court where he is charged with 35 crimes that allegedly occurred over a four-year period between Dec. 2012 and Dec. 2016.

Following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, a Sumner County grand jury indicted him on 28 charges in Aug. 2017. A separate grand jury indicted him in Dec. 2017 on 11 more charges.

The charges included 12 counts of theft of $1,000 to $10,000; 12 counts of theft of $2,500 to $10,000; 9 counts of falsely representing himself as a lawyer; two counts of theft of $10,000 to $60,000; two counts of theft of $60,000 to $250,000; impersonating a licensed professional and practicing law without a license. Four of the theft charges were dismissed by prosecutors in June of 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

According to the most recent indictment, Allman unlawfully took control of more than $54,000 by telling and convincing the victim that the property was in a trust account when it had in fact been unlawfully converted and used by Allman. The disbarred attorney also falsely represented himself as a lawyer to the same victim from August of 2019 until February of 2020, the indictment states.

Sumner County Assistant District Attorney Ron Blanton said the most recent case was also investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.

Blanton said he hopes the new charges won’t delay next week’s trial.

“We are opposed to any continuance,” he added. “We’re ready to go.”

Allman’s trial is expected to last two weeks and will include more than 60 alleged victims and other witnesses, according to Blanton.

Allman is also charged with theft of $60,000 to $250,000 in Davidson County for allegedly depositing a $230,000 check belonging to a client into one of his personal accounts. That trial is scheduled to begin April 13.

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Attorney again charged with theft as trial nears