Convicted Attorneys Face Hard Time

MANHATTAN (CN) - Two attorneys were convicted of federal wire and tax fraud conspiracy: taking millions of dollars in fraudulent referral fees in connection with a tax shelter. One of them, John B. Ohle III, of Wilmette, Ill., also was found guilty of tax evasion for omitting $6 million in income from referral fees and embezzlement.

Ohle, 42, supervised the Innovative Strategies Group at Bank One, which created the "Hedge Option Monetization of Economic Remainder," or HOMER tax shelter.

He and William Bradley, a Louisiana lawyer, conspired with the now-defunct law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist to file bogus referral invoices and receive fees to which they were not otherwise entitled, prosecutors said.

Ohle took $800,000 in the referral fees and embezzled another $4 million from a client, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in announcing the convictions.

Bradley, 46, got $25,000.

A third co-conspirator, Douglas Steger, pleaded guilty in July 2008 to receiving $215,000 in fraudulent fees.

Ohle faces 15 years in prison and forfeiture of a sports memorabilia collection worth millions, and Bradley faces a sentence of 5 years. Both are scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 9.

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