Summary: After going into hiding at the beginning of December, Las Vegas attorney Robert C. Graham has been charged and arrested for stealing millions from clients.
Missing since December, a Las Vegas attorney has now been charged with theft, destroying evidence, and exploitation of vulnerable people. Robert Chase Graham, 52, was a prominent wills and trusts lawyer in Las Vegas who went missing after allegations surfaced by the state bar of stealing millions of dollars in client funds.
Graham has now been indicted and arrested on the criminal charges which could cost him up to 90 years in prison. He has been accused of stealing over $2 million from multiple clients starting in July 2013. The allegations also include the theft of client computer files twice after suddenly closing his law office last month.
Investigators believe that he may have taken over $15 million from his clients. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said, “We felt it was necessary to quickly seek an indictment on this case to ensure that evidence was preserved and that Mr. Graham was unable to cause any further financial damage to families in our community.”
Graham has been a Nevada lawyer since 1992. He also has offices in Utah and Colorado, where he also has a home in Fort Collins. He graduated from Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark School of Law. He was a frequent television advertiser until he shut down his Lawyers West firm and laid off employees on December 2.
The Nevada State Bar filed the misconduct complaint against him on December 8 with the Nevada Supreme Court temporarily suspending his license pending the outcome of the professional disciplinary proceedings the next day. The court acted so quickly because letting him continue to practice law posed a “substantial threat of serious harm to the public.”
Graham has been booked on $5 million bail. He has expressed remorse that his business failed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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To learn more about lawyers that have stolen from their clients, read these articles:
- Lawyer Accused of Stealing $600,000 from Elderly Clients
- Lawyer Gets 9 Years for Stealing from Clients
- Las Vegas Attorney Going to Prison after Stealing from Clients
Graham Photo: avvo.com
Lawyers West Photo: news3lv.com