KALAMAZOO, MI (WTVB) – Disbarred Coldwater attorney James O’Briant was sentenced on Monday to 120 days in the Kalamazoo County jail and 36 months of probation by Kalamazoo County Judge Paul J. Bridenstine after he stole over $140,000 from a 95-year-old client.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also announced that the 64-year-old O’Briant was also ordered to pay over $168,000 in restitution.
O’Briant pled guilty to four counts of Larceny $20,000 or More and two counts of Taxes-Failure to File/False Return in October 2023.
Under his plea agreement, he was required to pay over $154,000 in restitution to the victim by the end of April. He also agreed to pay over $13,000 in restitution to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
In exchange, O’Briant would be sentenced on charges of Larceny $20,000 or More and Taxes-Failure to File/False Return, and the remaining charges would be dismissed.
But he did not pay the victim as required by the deadline and was sentenced on all six counts.
Nessel said, “Mr. O’Briant preyed on a client who entrusted his employer with her finances. This sentence is a testament that those who take advantage of their clients and have such blatant disregard for the law will be held accountable. My office will continue to protect our most vulnerable from thieves.”
According to a press release from the Attorney General’s office, O’Briant had access to the victim’s money through his employment under a licensed attorney. The licensed attorney had a representation agreement with the elderly victim and agreed to temporarily hold their money in the law firm’s trust account for safekeeping.
O’Briant transferred the victim’s money from the trust account to the firm’s business accounts and then withdrew and transferred the money again to use for his own purposes.
These transfers included over $40,000 to O’Briant’s personal investment accounts. O’Briant did not report the money he stole from the victim on his taxes in 2018 or 2019.
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