BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A Campbellsville, KY, man pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers today (Friday, Dec. 7, 2018) to five counts of wire fraud as part of a scheme to obtain money from clients of his legal practice, by means of misappropriating funds, in order to pay personal expenses including gambling losses, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.
Danny Butler, 72, was indicted on November 15, 2017. According to the indictment, Butler was an attorney licensed with the Kentucky Bar Association who was authorized to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He operated a legal practice in Greensburg, located in Green County, Kentucky, and provided clients with a broad range of legal services including probate, general civil, and government benefits.
According to the plea agreement before the Court, from August 2009 through October 2016, Butler obtained money by false pretenses from the clients of his legal practice by not performing work for his clients and by stealing funds belonging to estates of his clients.
Butler misappropriated funds from the following clients:
· Approximately $148,106 from the estate of L.A.;
· Approximately $29,987.07 from the estate of L.P.;
· Approximately $401,500 from the representation of B.M.;
· Approximately $50,000 from the representation of D.M.;
· Approximately $50,000 from the estate of D.B.;
· Approximately $90,000 from the representation of J.R.B.;
· Approximately $90,000 from the estate of E.U.;
· Approximately $25,000 from the estate of E.M.;
· Approximately $59,000 from the representation of J.W.S.;
· Approximately $25,000 for the representation of E.S.; and
· Approximately $125,000 from the estate of L.P.M.
Butler could be sentenced to a maximum 100 years in prison, fined $1,250,000, and be required to serve a three year period of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for March 4, 2019.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bryan Calhoun, and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Kentucky State Police.
