https://www.oregonlive.com/cri...federal-charges.html



Ex-Portland lawyer who stole more than $3.4 million from clients pleads guilty to 7 federal charges

Updated: Jun. 27, 2022, 10:57 a.m. | Published: Jun. 27, 2022, 10:08 a.m.


By Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive

A former Oregon personal injury lawyer who prosecutors say stole more than $3.4 million from her clients over nearly a decade pleaded guilty Monday to seven federal charges in what the state bar has called the worst fraud by a single lawyer in the state’s history.

Lori E. Deveny, who will turn 57 on Wednesday and relinquished her law license in Oregon in May 2018, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering and filing a false income tax return from 2012.


Prosecutors will seek a sentence of 10 years and one month for Deveny, Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire M. Fay told the court. Under the plea deal, Deveny can ask for no less than a five-year prison term, Fay said.

Federal prosecutors say Deveny stole money she held in trust for her clients and used it to pay off credit card debt and loans and to support a lavish lifestyle.

The expenses included big game hunting trips to Africa, taxidermy costs for big game hunting trophies resulting from those trips, other vacations, her husband’s photography business, home remodeling and expensive cigars, according to investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.

The money came from insurance proceeds that were supposed to be paid to her clients. The fraud occurred from April 2011 through May 2018, according to the plea agreement.

Deveny, who is out of custody, appeared with Assistant Federal Public Defender Mark Ahlemeyer before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman.

When asked how she pleaded to each of the seven counts, Deveny told the judge, “Guilty.”


She is to remain out of custody until her sentencing on Nov. 23. She’ll pay at least $3.4 million in restitution and forfeit $52,620, according to Fay.

The Oregon State Bar has approved $1.3 million in payouts from its Client Security Fund resulting from claims submitted by clients who said they lost money as a result of Deveny’s dishonesty as their lawyer. The bar was appointed as custodian of Deveny’s law practice, including her client files and business accounts.

Investigators say Deveny forged client signatures on settlement documents she sent to various insurance companies, transferred funds without authorization to her business checking account, a personal account and her husband’s checking account and lied to clients that the insurance companies were to blame for any delays in settling claims. The insurance companies sent the settlement checks directly to Deveny. Many of Deveny’s clients never received the insurance payouts they were owed.


“When clients complained about the length of time it was taking for claims to settle, defendant sent them lulling emails or text messages, making a variety of excuses, including: claiming that the insurance companies typically take a long time to settle claims; falsely claiming that she was following up with insurance companies about their delays in making settlement payments; falsely claiming that the clients’ settlements had been delayed by medical liens; claiming that she was ill; claiming that other family members were ill; and other excuses,” the plea agreement says.

Deveny had faced a 24-count indictment in federal court. She also is being prosecuted in Multnomah County Circuit Court on 92 counts of theft, forgery and other charges.

In a separate civil suit, a man who accused Oregon Democratic donor Terrence “Terry” Bean of sexually abusing him as a teenager, claimed Deveny, his former attorney, committed legal malpractice by negotiating settlement deals without his consent and pocketed most of the settlement money Bean had paid his accuser not to show up for his first trial. Earlier this year, the state dropped all criminal charges against Bean after the alleged victim in the sex abuse case informed the Lane County prosecutor that he didn’t want to proceed or participate in the long-running case, according to court documents. Civil suits against Bean were then dismissed.


In 2019, the federal prosecutor urged the court to order Deveny to preserve the approximately dozen guns found in her house and exotic taxidermy heads of animals, including a giraffe, zebra, and lion, but dispose of any ammunition in the home. Deveny’s husband took his own life in the home a year before with a gun, Fay said then.

Ahlemeyer said Deveny was cataloging the firearms for sale to pay off debt and urged the court to allow Deveny to continue to do so. A magistrate judge in 2019 ordered Deveny to keep a detailed accounting of her sales of any guns and taxidermy items and provide that information to her pretrial services officer.

As a result of Deveny’s fraud, the state bar pushed for a change in state law that requires an insurance company to notify a claimant directly, as well as the attorney, if a settlement is reached and money is paid out.


The so-called payee notification bill passed in last year’s legislative session “will provide both a deterrent to malfeasance and a means of prompt notice for the payee in the rare event of misconduct,” said Kateri Walsh, a state bar spokesperson.

In 2019, the state bar said Deveny’s theft cases prompted the highest claims to the Client Security Fund involving a single lawyer in the state. The bar increased the maximum Client Security Fund payout from $50,000 to $100,000 per claim, effective this year, according to Walsh.

Deveny told the court she is being treated for a mental illness but said she wasn’t taking any medication that interfered with her ability to understand the court proceeding.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

https://www.koin.com/news/crim...trips-pleads-guilty/



Ex-attorney who stole clients’ money for African safari hunting trips pleads guilty

by: Hailey Dunn

Posted: Jun 27, 2022 / 11:36 AM PDT

Updated: Jun 27, 2022 / 11:37 AM PDT


PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A former attorney from Portland pleaded guilty Monday to multiple felony charges after she allegedly embezzled client funds and used them to support her “lavish lifestyle,” which included multiple hunting trips to Africa.

Lori Deveny admitted to aggravated identity theft, money laundering, filing a false tax return, along with mail, bank and wire fraud.


Court documents revealed Deveny paid off personal credit card and loan payments for nearly a decade using money she held in trust for clients.



Federal prosecutors said the funds came from insurance proceeds meant to be paid out to Deveny’s clients. However, the 56-year-old allegedly forged client signatures to make unauthorized transfers to her personal accounts.

According to investigators, Deveny used the funds for various vacations, including multiple big game hunting trips to Africa, the related taxidermy costs, her husband’s photography business, home remodeling and expensive cigars.

The scheme lasted from April 2011 to May 2019.

Deveny was was indicted on 24-counts on May 7, 2019, and is now expected to be sentenced on November 23, 2022. She reportedly agreed to pay full restitution to her victims as part of her plea agreement.

We had a scumbag lawyer here in Las Vegas that bilked his estate planning clients out of millions a few years back. He is serving 15 years time. That is still not enough, in my opinion. Trust the news to ensure that we know about her hunting exploits.

We had a female attorney locally who stole settlement funds intended for clients. She also forged her husband's name on mortgage documents. She went to jail for a period of years.

The strange thing is that she didn't need the money. Her husband was a successful cardiologist.

She lived in the subdivision next to mine.

I was in the Portland chapter of SCI for about 20 years. I do remember her husband, but not her?? WOW!!
Sad, I didn't know he had committed suicide...

WOW!!

This story may be alot worse than it was originally reported!! GRIZZLY!!... and not over yet!!

https://stephanievolin.medium....riminal-f3eddc892191

Don't pass off your wife!!

https://www.justice.gov/usao-o...on-embezzling-client


Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Oregon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 9, 2023



Former Portland Attorney Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Federal Prison for Embezzling Client Funds


PORTLAND, Ore.—A former Portland attorney was sentenced to federal prison today for defrauding more than one hundred clients out of millions of dollars in insurance proceeds and using the stolen money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle.

Lori E. Deveny, 57, was sentenced to 101 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. Deveny was also ordered to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution to her victims.

“It’s hard to overstate the extraordinary impact Ms. Deveny’s crimes had on the many innocent and vulnerable victims who trusted her. As a former attorney, she had a special responsibility to her clients and to the public, but she repeatedly abused this trust and prioritized her own needs. This is a just sentence for serious crimes,” said Ethan Knight, Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“The cruelest thing of all is knowingly providing false hope. Having already suffered losses, Ms. Deveny’s clients deserved an attorney who represented their best interests. What they got instead was someone who inflicted more loss,” said Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “Today, Ms. Deveny is receiving what she never provided her clients: a picture of reality that those who choose to defraud will face the consequences of their actions.”

“While serving as an attorney, Ms. Deveny brazenly stole money that should have gone to pay for health care for her clients for serious injuries and ailments. Instead, that money funded things like big game hunting trips to Africa and home remodeling. She took advantage of people who were physically and emotionally hurting by forging insurance checks, stealing the funds and lying to her clients about the payouts,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Field Office. “These actions not only got her disbarred but are now putting her behind bars. The FBI applauds our partners at IRS-CI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as we continue to bring to justice those who commit this kind of unconscionable financial fraud that harms the people in our shared community.”

According to court documents, between April 2011 and May 2019, Deveny used manipulation and deceit to systematically defraud at least 135 clients out of more than $3.8 million in insurance proceeds she held in trust on their behalf. To accomplish her scheme, Deveny stole her clients’ identities, forged insurance checks made payable to them, deposited client funds into her personal bank accounts, and continually lulled clients into a false sense of hope that they would receive compensation for their injuries. Many of Deveny’s victims were particularly vulnerable to her criminal behavior after sustaining serious brain and bodily injuries and never received the insurance payouts they were owed.

The Oregon State Bar Client Security Fund (CSF), Wells Fargo Bank, and the IRS also suffered losses as a result of Deveny’s scheme. The CSF made partial restitution payments to some of Deveny’s clients, resulting in a loss of more than $1.2 million. This is one of the largest losses in the Oregon State Bar’s history and resulted in the organization raising dues for all members for two years to cover the cost of the payments. Wells Fargo Bank lost more than $52,000 because Deveny stole and forged a check and the IRS sustained a tax loss of more than $621,000 when Deveny failed to report the money she stole from her clients on her personal income tax returns.

All told, Deveny’s crimes resulted in total losses to all victims of more than $4.5 million.

Deveny used the proceeds of her scheme to pay more than $150,000 on foreign and domestic airline tickets, more than $173,000 on African safari and big game hunting trips, $35,000 on taxidermy expenses, $125,000 on home renovations, $195,000 in mortgage payments, more than $220,000 in cigars and related expenses, $58,000 on pet boarding and veterinary costs, $41,000 on recreational vehicle expenses, $50,000 for a Cadillac luxury vehicle, and $60,000 on stays at a luxury nudist resort in Palm Springs, California.

On May 7, 2019, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 24-count indictment charging Deveny with mail, bank, and wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; money laundering; and filing a false tax return.

On June 27, 2022, she pleaded guilty to one count each of mail, wire, and bank fraud; money laundering; and filing a false tax return; and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

This case was investigated by IRS-CI and the FBI with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau. It was prosecuted by Claire M. Fay, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - Oregon
Updated January 9, 2023

Terrible sentence!

He is lawyers should be getting one for every Dollar he stole.

So 3,400,000 into days would come to 9,308 days.

Good luck to him!

What’s the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? One is a bottom feeding scum sucker and one is a tasty gamefish….

I agree with Saeed... the sentence is LIGHT!!...she is probably 70s- 80 now??

I wonder if she still has the $4.5 million in restitution and that makes many clients closer to whole...so the light sentence??

I remember her husband Bob in the Portland Chapter... but I certainly don't remember her?? HUMMMM with $60k at nudist resort visits in Palm Springs... you would think one might notice a hot one??!! Nope, and I don't think Bob would have been there??

They did alot of hunting, but we never had a Chapter meeting in their home/trophyroom...

I can always remember my CPA Dad saying: " All that glitters isn't Gold!!"... he saw lots of "stuff" too in his 50 years of practice!!

Why do these people always say they have "Mental Health issues"? The fact is she's just a shit human.

quote:

Originally posted by 470EDDY:
I agree with Saeed... the sentence is LIGHT!!...she is probably 70s- 80 now??

No she just turned 57.

Well, that's probably a daughter or daughter-in-law...or not related at all??
I recall Bob was near my age... maybe a little younger back in the 90s when I was active in Portland Chapter!!
HUMMMMMM...

I think mentioning more than $200,000 in safaris and taxidermy is as newsworthy as more than $200,000 in luxury cigars. The luxury nudist resort is icing. Too bad women seem to have an easier time in prison than men, otherwise I'd make the usual drop the soap in the shower comment.

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
Why do these people always say they have "Mental Health issues"? The fact is she's just a shit human.

They do.

Or they would not have become lawyers in the first instance!

quote:

Or they would not have become lawyers in the first instance!

Just gotta love Saeed and his humor!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:

quote:

Or they would not have become lawyers in the first instance!

Just gotta love Saeed and his humor!

I do not like communism.

But, when it comes to lawyers, I do believe some are more equal than others!

Got two lawyers sitting right next to me.

A boss and a young lady.

The y lady is the daughter of a frog mine!

They are laughing!

Here is a pretty grizzly and torrid story about "the Deveny's"... pictures... he was a lawyer too!!

Provided by an old Portland Chapter member when I forwarded the AR thread!! Put on your "Big Boy Pants"... this gets pretty steamy!! I understand that Bob's demise is still under investigation!!


Obviously you didn't know Bob committed suicide. This link below will blow your mind.

https://stephanievolin.medium....riminal-f3eddc892191

I have also just posted a similarly steamy article about SCI Past President debacle on that thread!!

I have seen her husband before. Probably at SCI. He is hard to forget .

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I have seen her husband before. Probably at SCI. He is hard to forget .

I certainly remember Bob at the Portland and later Southwest Washington SCI Chapter meetings,always held in members trophy rooms. Not in Deveny's, however. Bob was a happy and outgoing guy who laughed alot...even if he was a lawyer too!!
I don't remember his wife, however, and the meetings were always couples events. I am told by those responding to forwarding this post that she was more of a "Momma Bear" type??!!
Obviously, you don't want to piss her off!!