The VLW Blog

When a general contractor failed to pay subcontractors on a retail construction project, the Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney brought the contractor up on criminal fraud charges. Facing an imminent jury trial, the contractor now has agreed to pay out a total of  $400,000 to resolve the case, according to The Free Lance-Star. Contractors will get [...]

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Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas Horne will allow a plaintiff to pursue his auto accident case despite the earlier “settlement” of the claim by a dishonest lawyer acting without the client’s authority. Woodbridge lawyer Stephen Conrad, now disbarred and imprisoned, settled hundreds of claims without authority, usually pocketing the proceeds. A string of decisions held [...]

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Former Grundy lawyer David Cecil pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in connection with his handling of the estate of a Buchanan County physician. The government says Cecil stole more than $175,000 from trust accounts he was hired to administer for the estates of Robert and Nancy [...]

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Retired Albemarle County Circuit Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. has sided with the University of Virginia in its effort to block Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s investigation of records from a climate change researcher. In a letter opinion today, Peatross finds the attorney general failed to set forth an objective basis to support his issuance [...]

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A dishonest former lawyer from the D.C. suburbs was exposed when he was cheated by one of those all-too-common e-mail scams, authorities say. Bradley Schwartz of Rockville, Md., reportedly took the bait when he was asked to help an “Asian” client collect funds. When a big cashier’s check arrived, he deposited it and started making [...]

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Former Virginia Beach attorney Stephen Gunther has been sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay $231,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to fraud in connection with a series of real estate closings, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Gunther, 40, a resident of Hertford, N.C., allegedly used straw purchasers [...]

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Former Franklin lawyer J. Edward Moyler Jr. today was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for stealing more than $4 million from his client accounts. Most of the money came from the estate of a well-known Franklin woman. Although Moyler is under order to pay back the missing money, prospects for restitution [...]

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A former Virginia resident has joined other disillusioned devotees of a nationwide chain of Yoga facilities who claim the organization robbed them of their free will and took control of their minds and their money. Andrew Myers is suing various entities affiliated with the Dahn Yoga chain in a 77-page lawsuit in Alexandria federal court, [...]

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U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar sentenced a former Newport News mortgage broker to 20 years in prison for running a mortgage fraud scheme out of his house. According to the Daily Press, Richard N. Garries had been found guilty of 24 charges, including wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements and concealing transactions. [...]

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A former claims manager for the Virginia Birth Injury Fund has been indicted on federal charges related to the alleged embezzlement of more than $800,000 from the fund. Iris F. Allen, 44, of Richmond worked for the fund from 2004 until earlier this year. The indictment alleges 12 counts of embezzlement, 11 counts of health [...]

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