William F. Conour, Wire Fraud, Indiana 2013

State: Illinois
Category: White Collar Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdil/pr/indianapolis-attorney-pleads-guilty-defrauding-clients-more-45-million" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

Indianapolis attorney William F. Conour, 66, pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 25 clients of over $4.5 million since 1999.

Conour devoted most of his law practice to representing clients who had suffered serious injuries or death caused by construction site accidents, automobile collisions, and accidents resulting in traumatic brain injury.

According to the information filed on August 14, 2012, Conour engaged in a scheme to defraud his clients from 1999 through April 2012. As part of the scheme, Conour kept a majority of his clients’ settlement proceeds for his own use and benefit.

Conour did not deposit the full amount of client settlements into client ‘trust’ accounts; instead, Conour funded the trusts on a yearly basis with funds only sufficient to enable the client to receive monthly payments for a year. Furthermore, Conour used newly obtained settlement funds to pay old settlements and debts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana has been recused in this matter. The U.S. Attorney General appointed the Central District of Illinois to handle the case prosecution.

Conour has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his bond was revoked on June 27, 2013. Sentencing has been scheduled for October 17, 2013.

The offense of wire fraud carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant may also be ordered to pay full restitution to victims of the offense.

The plea was announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, and Robert A. Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Indianapolis Division.

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