Prosecutor: Ex-lawyer stole $160K from clients
NORRISTOWN >> A disbarred Lower Providence lawyer treated clients, some of them with special needs, “like a personal ATM” as he embezzled more than $160,000 from them, a prosecutor alleged.
“He preyed upon the 17 victims in this case. He used them like a personal ATM. These were all intentional acts,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kelli McGinnis argued as the theft trial for disgraced lawyer Patrick Joseph Bradley got under way in county court on Monday. “He just continued to take their money and spend their money. It’s over and over again.”
Bradley, 47, whose law office, Bradley Law LLC, was located in the 3800 block of Germantown Pike, stole monies from special needs clients and their families and used it to pay for his personal bills, such as his home mortgage, restaurant meals and movie tickets, McGinnis argued to Judge Wendy G. Rothstein.
But defense lawyer George Griffith Jr. suggested prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to prove that Bradley intended to steal from or harm his clients and that Bradley never was afforded an adequate opportunity to make things right.
“Bradley Law at one time was a flourishing practice. Somewhere along the way Patrick got overburdened with his clients and his responsibilities,” Griffith argued during his opening statement to Rothstein.
Bradley, whose last known address was in the 1100 block of Cornwallis Way, Perkiomen Township, turned down a plea agreement offer from prosecutors and opted for a non-jury trial at which Rothstein is acting as the sole factfinder. The trial is expected to last about four days.
Bradley, who remains free on bail as his trial plays out, faces charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property,
theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, deceptive business practices, misapplication of entrusted property, securing execution of documents by deception and unauthorized practice of law in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between 2013 and 2016.
Harold Ciampoli, an official of the Pennsylvania Office of Disciplinary Counsel, testified Monday that the office investigated complaints against Bradley in 2015 and that Bradley did not respond to requests or subpoenas for complete records and dispositions of the clients’ funds. As a result, the Supreme Court temporarily suspended Bradley’s law license effective Aug. 9, 2015, according to testimony.
“After he was suspended we did start to receive complaints he was still engaging in the practice of law,” Ciampoli testified. “He was still holding himself out as an attorney in good standing.”
State officials filed a contempt petition against Bradley and on Sept. 15, 2016, Bradley was “disbarred on consent” after he agreed to resign from the bar, testimony revealed.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Bradley, through his law firm, established and managed special needs trust agreements for five clients, established himself as the sole trustee and then used assets in the accounts for his own benefit, to the tune of $116,340.
Additionally, Bradley was paid by seven other clients to provide legal services in obtaining orders and guardianships for their special needs relatives and failed to perform the necessary legal work, instead using $30,577 in funds for his own personal use, authorities alleged.
The clients who allegedly were victimized by Bradley resided in Montgomery, Berks and Chester counties, according to investigators.
Prosecutors alleged Bradley was put in a position of trust, or worked himself into a position of trust, and he took advantage of some good people who were trying to take care of loved ones by establishing trusts for their ongoing care.
After news of Bradley’s arrest became public in April 2017, five additional alleged victims came forward with complaints.
The additional victims claimed they suffered losses after paying for legal work that was not performed or not fully performed as well as the misappropriation of funds overseen by Bradley. Their losses totaled $13,954, according to the district attorney’s office.