Last month, a former Biglaw paralegal was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $600,000 from the Am Law 200 where she worked, and yesterday, she pleaded not guilty to numerous counts of wire fraud and embezzlement related to her alleged six-figure financial heist.
Becky Louise Sutton, formerly of Saul Ewing’s Chicago office, stands accused of transferring bankruptcy estate funds meant for creditors to her own accounts. She allegedly did this from 2009 to 2018, taking a total of $682,980. According to the indictment, Sutton used the money to pay credit card bills, mortgage bills, and student loan bills, also setting some cash aside in her personal bank account and a PayPal account.
Reuters has the details on how the firm has reacted to the charges:
“We have cooperated with law enforcement and ensured that any impacted client did not suffer any losses,” the [Saul Ewing] spokesperson said in an April 21 statement.
Saul Ewing declined to comment on Sutton’s plea Thursday. Sutton’s lawyer said he would not comment until the discovery process is carried out.
Sutton has posted $5,000 for bond, and faces up to 60 years in prison for three counts of wire fraud and 15 years for three counts of embezzlement.
Ex-Saul Ewing paralegal pleads not guilty to embezzling $600K [Reuters]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
