Personal injury lawyer admits embezzling millions from clients
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
August 20, 2008
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| Stephen T. Conrad, a former lawyer who is accused of embezzlement plead guilty on Tuesday, August 19, 2008. (Prince William County Police Dept) |
WASHINGTON — Pr. William lawyer lived lavish by forging clients’ signatures on claims
A Prince William County personal injury lawyer pleaded guilty to embezzling millions of dollars from clients who had suffered serious injuries to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Stephen T. Conrad, 40, of Purcellville, admitted in federal court Tuesday that he forged the signatures of at least 50 clients on settlement claims and kept at least $3.5 million for himself.
The money helped Conrad live like a country squire on a multiacre estate. Sources close to the investigation said Conrad got in over his head with gambling problems and mounting debt. Things snowballed from there.
Authorities said Conrad left about 250 victims in his wake. Many had suffered spinal and head injuries, facial fractures, and, in at least one case, a leg injury that required amputation, prosecutors said.
“Mr. Conrad posed as a professional to many who desperately needed and trusted him,” said U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg. “He violated that trust and will now be held accountable to the victims and to the community.”
He now faces up to 20 years in prison at his Nov. 14 sentencing.
“It’s extremely unfortunate for everybody involved,” said Conrad’s attorney Germy C. Kamens.
Richard “Pete” Peterson, 48, Dumfries, believes he may have kicked off the investigation in early 2007. Peterson had been rear-ended in 2005 by a landscape truck on an Interstate 95 exit ramp in Dale City. His doctor referred Peterson to Conrad.
Conrad initiated a claim against the insurance company and told Peterson not to worry if he hadn’t heard back from him because personal injury lawsuits take time. But after nearly two years, Conrad called the Virginia state bar association.
An investigator found out that Conrad already had settled Peterson’s case without his permission and kept the money. And Peterson wasn’t the only victim.
“It looks like you kicked over a can of worms,” the investigator told Peterson.
Peterson, supervisor for the heavy fleet section for Arlington County, said he’s still taking three kinds of pain medicine, and is getting spinal injections for the pain to his back and neck.
“It kind of makes me sad. I don’t bear him any malice,” Peterson said. “I don’t think he was chasing ambulances, he just made bad choices.”
Conrad, who was disbarred in Virginia and Maryland last year, used the money to travel abroad, pay off credit card debt, and buy a ski chalet at a resort in Wintergreen, Va.
Two years ago, Conrad built a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom French country mansion on a 10-acre spread in Loudoun County. The hilltop view offers a panoramic view of the equestrian country. As part of his plea deal, Conrad forfeited the resort home and the Loudoun property. That estate is now on the market for $1.6 million.
Staff writer Bill Myers contributed to this story.
