KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A previously disbarred attorney from Coldwater pleaded guilty to stealing from a 95-year-old client.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that 63-year-old James O’Briant pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of larceny of $20,000 or more, along with two counts of failure to file taxes/false return.
The AG’s office says O’Briant had access to the victim’s money through his employment under a licensed attorney.
The attorney had a representation agreement with the elderly victim, agreeing to hold their money temporarily in the law firm’s trust account.
However, Nessel says O’Briant transferred the victim’s money from the trust account to the firm’s business accounts and used that money for personal reasons.
The transfers included more than $40,000 to O’Briant’s personal investment accounts, and he did not report the money he stole from the victim on his taxes in 2018 or 2019, according to the AG’s office.
“Many older adults need financial management assistance from legal professionals, and they should be able to count on the safekeeping of their money when entrusted to a law firm,” Nessel said. “My office will fully prosecute bad actors who steal from their clients to enrich themselves.”
Now, O’Briant must pay $154,511.73 in restitution to the victim by the end of April, per the plea agreement.
Additionally, he must pay $13,556.00 in restitution to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
If O’Briant meets the terms of the plea agreement, he will be sentenced only for one count of larceny of $20,000 or more and one count of failure to file taxes/false return, and the state will dismiss the remaining charges.
O’Briant’s sentencing in the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County is scheduled for May 6, 2024.
