Diet-Drug Lawyers Guilty of Stealing Settlement Money (Update1)

[Lucky Luciano]

Source: Bloomberg

By Cary O’Reilly

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Two Kentucky lawyers were found guilty of stealing $200 million from a “fen-phen” diet-drug injury settlement fund established for their clients.

William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. were convicted on all nine counts including wire fraud and conspiracy by a federal jury in Frankfort, Kentucky today after a seven-week trial. The men face as much as 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 at sentencing. A jury of 7 women and 5 men deliberated for 11 hours over 2 days before reaching a verdict.

The men had contracts entitling them to fees of as much as one-third of the award to 440 Kentucky citizens who said they were harmed by the once-popular diet drug combination. The lawyers tried to keep more than twice that amount, prosecutors said. Gallion and Cunningham failed to tell clients the size of the settlement and misled them as to how much they would get.

Lawyers for the two men had argued that they were innocent, and that the defendants were inexperienced in handling large awards in class action lawsuits and had made mistakes. They sought to blame Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley for many of their clients’ decisions. Chesley, who hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing, advised the men on the fen-Phen settlement for a $20 million fee and testified at the trial after accepting an immunity agreement from prosecutors.

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Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aS9gbD7uyV0g

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Now, this is what I call pure unadulterated greed....beats any individual banker by a longshot (though the banks as a whole are of course more greedy).

[Pharlo]

1. I know this is a serious subject, but when I read that all I could think of

was the exchange in 'Airplane'

"Surely you jest!"
"No, and don't call me Shirley again."

[Lucky Luciano]

4. I must admit....that same thing did cross my mind! haha...nt

[bemildred]

2. Oh! You could just knock me over with a feather! nt

[alfredo]

3. Two well known sleazeballs. Cunningham was a city council member for

a while. He was useless. He was there just to get kickbacks.