Last week, a former Biglaw chief financial officer pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm, as well as to evading state income tax payments related to the seven-figure financial heist.
John Dunlea, who formerly served as CFO of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter — a firm ranked at No. 246 on the NLJ 500 — offered his plea on May 8. Reuters has the details:
The New Jersey attorney general’s office alleged that Dunlea, 61, paid himself unauthorized compensation totaling about $1.2 million between 2017 and 2022. He also had McElroy Deutsch pay about $355,000 in credit card charges that he said were business expenses but actually were personal expenses for flights, hotels and restaurants, the state said.
The state also charged Dunlea with evading state taxes totaling more than $22,000 on income from the credit card scheme. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of theft by deception and five counts of failure to pay taxes, the attorney general’s office said.
Dunlea, who confessed and apologized to the firm, and later resigned in April 2023, said in a statement given by his lawyer that he “made a terrible decision that he regrets and for which he will pay for the rest of his life.” McElroy Deutsch did not issue comment on Dunlea’s plea. The firm has also filed a civil suit against him.
Prosecutors are recommending a five-year sentence for Dunlea, as well as restitution to the firm. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on June 14.
Ex-law firm finance chief pleads guilty to embezzling $1.5 mln [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 X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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