A former San Antonio lawyer has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for a $2.4 million wire fraud scheme.
Todd Prins, 52, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge David A. Ezra in San Antonio, Texas, on June 28, 2017.
Prins pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and admitted to defrauding multiple victims of their money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises from August 16, 2013, to December 22, 2016.
According to court records, Prins led clients to believe that a lawsuit he filed on their behalf was successful, resulting in a judgment in their favor. To convince his clients, Prins fraudulently created forged court rulings, opinions and orders, purportedly issued by various state and federal courts bearing the signatures of the respective judges.
Prins also caused an entity that had purchased real estate in a foreclosure sale conducted by his law firm to wire transfer approximately $2,400,000 to Prins’ law firm’s trust account. Rather than maintaining those funds in his trust account for proper distribution, Prins caused approximately $2,000,000 of that money to be wire transferred to another bank account he controlled.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Ezra ordered that Prins pay $2,975,264 restitution and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
“Ordinary Texans often put their trust in lawyers to help them navigate complex legal disputes. When a lawyer abuses that trust for personal gain, it undermines the integrity of our legal system. The misconduct in this case was simply outrageous, and the six-year sentence was amply deserved,” stated United States Attorney John F. Bash.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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