Failure To Appear In Court Leads To Arrest Warrant Issued For Lawyer Accused Of Illegally Snatching Unclaimed Foreclosure Surplus Cash

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Brookfield Patch reports:

• An arrest warrant was issued Monday for a Brookfield lawyer accused in a $500,000 fraud case when he failed to appear in court for a hearing to change his not guilty plea.



• Thomas E. Bielinski, 52, did not show up for his scheduled 8:30 a.m. hearing before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge J.D. Watts, according to online court records.



• Bielinski is accused in a criminal complaint of stealing more than $500,000 in unclaimed foreclosure funds, according to this JSOnline.com story.

Source: Brookfield Lawyer Accused in $500K Fraud Fails to Appear for Plea (An arrest warrant was issued for lawyer Thomas E. Bielinski after he failed to show for his court hearing in Milwaukee Monday).

See also, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brookfield lawyer charged with stealing $542,000 in unclaimed funds (Man accused of falsely claiming to represent people entitled to the money):

• Every two years, the Milwaukee County treasurer's office publishes a list of unclaimed amounts and the names of the people entitled to collect them. While investigators say that list served as a very productive tip sheet for Bielinski, it hasn't spurred similar crimes or attempts recently, Milwaukee County Treasurer Daniel Diliberti said.

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• But it wouldn't be the first time a lawyer stole unclaimed funds from the court clerk and treasurer. Robert Kuhnmuench pleaded guilty in 1999 to a similar scheme that netted him $66,000 and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to a Supreme Court order revoking his license to practice law. He died in 2009.