Attttorney Gets 8 Years For Clipping Clients' Trust Account Out Of $380K; Prosecutors: Lawyer Used Cash To Finance Costa Rican Casino Crapshoot

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• A former Fort Lauderdale lawyer who cheated his clients out of more than $380,000 was sentenced on Thursday to eight years in prison, the Broward State Attorney's Office said. Mitchell Olin, 50, made an open plea putting his legal fate in the hands of Broward Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel.



• He imposed the sentence and ordered Olin to repay the seven families he represented in real estate transactions and insurance settlements starting in 2002.(1) He also sentenced Olin to 15 years probation. And, Olin promised to help three of the families in foreclosure proceedings, the State Attorney's Office said.



• The money had been placed in trust, but Olin used it to finance a casino venture in Costa Rica, prosecutors said. Olin's bank caught the discrepancies in the trust account and alerted the Florida Bar.

Source: Former Broward lawyer sentenced in fraud case.

(1) The Florida Bar's Clients' Security Fund compensates people who have been victims of of misappropriation or embezzlement of cash or property by a Florida-licensed attorney. For those ripped off by dishonest attorneys in other states and Canada, see:

• United States: Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• United States: Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Canada: Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.