A disbarred attorney from East Cobb has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft involving some of his clients.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, Chalmer “Chuck” Detling II, who was disbarred in 2016, was given a sentence of five years and 10 months, plus three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $254,837 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May.
Detling, 45, who was the owner of the Detling Law Group on Roswell Road, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2018, after prosecutors alleged he used the identities of his clients without their knowledge to obtain litigation advances totaling nearly $400,000.
During his trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said evidence was presented showing Detling received the high-interest loans between October 2014 and April 2016.
The office said that Detling “knew when he submitted the agreement paperwork that the clients had not actually executed the agreements. He did so even after several clients expressly told him they did not need or want such financing.”
A release by the office said that “Detling was able to secure these fraudulent litigation advances without his clients’ knowledge in part because the financing companies did not require the clients to be present when applying for the litigation advances or receiving the disbursements.”
In 2012, Detling was fined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after admitting that he helped conceal a federal fraud indictment against a former client who was pursuing a municipal bond issue to purchase a casket company.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it was told the litigation fraud scheme after an anonymous tip was given to the Georgia Bar Association.
“This tough but fair sentence should remind those considering similar behavior about the consequences of those decisions, especially licensed professionals who are considering exploiting their clients in a time of need,” said U.S. Attorney Karl Erskine in a statement.
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