Former Belmont County attorney Thomas sentenced to 5 years in theft case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former Belmont County attorney was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 60 months in prison for committing mail fraud related to stealing more than $882,000 from an elderly woman with dementia while purporting to act in her best interests under a Power of Attorney.

From 2012 through August 2019, the 63-year-old Thomas defrauded a client and took the victim’s money without her knowledge or permission to use it for his own benefit.

As part of his sentence, Thomas is required to pay $882,502 in restitution.

“Thomas’s grave abuse of power over this vulnerable victim demands today’s serious punishment,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said. “The victim in this case was 86 years old, exhibiting symptoms of dementia, and living in a senior-care facility. She trusted Thomas, and Thomas abused that trust to steal her money for more than seven years. His actions to take advantage of her were utterly shameful.”

According to court documents, Thomas improperly used the victim’s Power of Attorney and his status as a lawyer – even after his law license was revoked in 2015 – to convince various entities, including banks and life insurance companies, to transfer the victim’s money for his use.

In May 2012, a family member of the victim obtained a separate Power of Attorney for the victim, and Thomas drafted a revocation of the family member’s Power of Attorney for the victim to sign. Thomas acted as the notary to verify the victim’s signature on the revocation.

Furthermore, Thomas falsely told a banker he needed $200,000 from the victim’s investment account to set up an educational fund that the victim wanted to establish. Once he received the money from the bank, Thomas transferred the money to himself instead.

In January 2014, Thomas cashed more than $290,000 of the victim’s U.S. Treasury Bonds, then subsequently transferred $200,000 into his law firm’s bank account, and eventually into his own personal bank account.

According to court documents, in 2016, Thomas wrote letters to three life insurance companies purporting to be the victim asking to cash out the victim’s policies and direct all correspondence to Thomas.

Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2021 and pleaded guilty in August 2022.