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Phillip R. Williams, of Easthampton, pleaded guilty in December, to wire fraud, engaging in financial transactions greater than $10,000 of proceeds derived from criminal activity, money laundering, and tax fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts, said.
On Friday, Sept. 25, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni sentenced Williams to over 5 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release
As a lawyer, Williams was responsible for holding clients’ money in trust accounts and other bank accounts.
Prosecutors went after Williams on several incidents,
- Stealing Bank Loan Funds
In 2014, Williams stole money from two people who had transferred $453,695 to the lawyer for the purposes of obtaining a bank loan. It isn’t clear from the information provided whether Williams spent all or just some of the money to make personal purchases. Adding to the folly, Williams never reported the stolen cash on his income tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
- Stealing Money For Land Purchase
Between 2015 and 2017, a client gave Williams $230,500 to purchase land. Williams deposited the money into his bank accounts and spent the money on himself. To cover his tracks, in 2018 Williams sent false emails and documents telling the client that the land was purchased.
- Forging Loans In His Mother’s Name
Between 2017 and 2018, Williams fraudulently obtained loans from two commercial lenders in the name of a client, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The lenders were ProBuildder Financial and Velocity Commercial Capital. To obtain and keep the money, Williams produced fraudulent documents and forged a bank loan letter to his mother and his ex-wife’s signature on forms.
- Going Big
In 2019, Williams defrauded investment firm Lore Investment Group out of about $1.1 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Williams also tried to scam four other investment firms out of more than $1 million each saying clients were going to use the money to purchase properties but was unsuccessful.
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