Indianapolis Attorney Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Clients Of More Than $4.5 Million

INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis attorney William F. Conour today entered an open plea of guilty to an information that alleged that he has defrauded more than 25 clients of more than $4.5 million since 1999. Conour, 66, pleaded guilty during a hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young in Indianapolis. Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 17, 2013.

Conour has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his bond was revoked on June 27, 2013. At that time, Judge Young granted the government’s motion to revoke bond after finding that Conour had breached the conditions of his bond when he dissipated assets without prior consent by the government.

The plea was announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, and Robert A. Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Indianapolis Division.

Conour was initially charged with fraud in a criminal complaint filed on Apr. 27, 2012. An information was filed on Aug. 14, 2012. According to the information, Conour devoted most of his law practice to representing clients who had suffered serious injuries or death caused by construction site accidents, automobile collisions, and accidents resulting in traumatic brain injury.

The information, to which Conour plead guilty, alleged that Conour engaged in a scheme to defraud his clients from 1999 through April 2012. As part of the scheme, Conour kept a majority of his clients’ settlement proceeds for his own use and benefit. Conour did not deposit the full amount of client settlements into client ‘trust’ accounts; instead, Conour funded the trusts on a yearly basis with funds only sufficient to enable the client to receive monthly payments for a year. Further, Conour used newly obtained settlement funds to pay old settlements and debts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana has been recused in this matter. The U.S. Attorney General appointed the Central District of Illinois to handle the case prosecution. The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Bohm, Central District of Illinois, Urbana Division.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance provided by the Indiana State Police, is conducting the investigation.

The offense of wire fraud carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant may also be ordered to pay full restitution to victims of the offense.