Earlier
this
week,
Scott
Diamond,
a
former
partner
at
Sacks
Weston,
a
Pennsylvania
litigation
boutique,
was
sentenced
to
jail
time
after
stealing
six
figures
of
legal
fees
from
the
firm
and
keeping
some
for
himself
and
his
associate
co-conspirator.
Diamond
pleaded
guilty
to
two
counts
of
fraud
in
August
for
stealing
about
$320,000
from
the
firm
and
originally
faced
up
to
40
years
behind
bars.
Prosecutors
later
requested
a
guideline
sentencing
of
27
to
33
months
in
prison,
while
Diamond’s
defense
attorney
requested
no
jail
time,
suggesting
instead
a
period
of
house
arrest
and
probation.
Ultimately,
Diamond
was
sentenced
to
six
months
in
prison
followed
by
six
months
of
house
arrest.
His
co-conspirator
received
a
sentence
of
three
years
of
probation.
The
Legal
Intelligencer
has
the
details:
The
sentence
handed
down
by
U.S.
District
Judge
Anita
Brody,
which
includes
three
years
of
supervised
release,
represents
a
middle
ground
between
prosecution
and
defense.
…Brody
determined
that
Diamond
posed
a
low
threat
of
reoffense
and
expressed
genuine
remorse
for
his
actions
during
his
address
to
the
court.
However,
evidence
supporting
the
prosecution’s
claim
that
Diamond
also
stolen
from
clients
by
charging
personal
expenses
to
their
files
weighed
into
her
decision
that
some
amount
of
time
behind
bars
was
warranted.
Diamond
expressed
his
regrets
to
the
court,
saying,
“I
would
like
to
extend
my
deepest
and
more
sincere
apology
to
members
of
my
former
firm
for
taking
money
from
them
and
keeping
them
in
the
dark.”
He
continued,
adding,
“There
were
underlying
circumstances
that
caused
me
to
take
the
money
but
to
say
them
now
would
sound
like
an
excuse.”
That
“excuse”
for
stealing
from
the
firm?
Diamond
was
reportedly
promised
by
Andrew
Sacks,
another
name
partner
at
the
firm,
that
he’d
receive
more
money
on
top
of
33%
of
the
firm’s
profits,
but
that
never
happened.
His
lawyer,
David
Bahuriak,
claims
his
client
committed
fraud
to
get
his
due.
Looking
back
on
the
situation,
Bahuriak
acknowledged
“it
would
have
been
wise
for
Diamond
to
sue
Sacks
rather
than
steal.”
John
Weston,
one
of
Diamond’s
former
partners
at
the
firm,
read
a
victim
impact
statement
in
court,
explaining
that
the
firm
—
not
to
mention
the
legal
profession
—
has
taken
quite
the
reputational
hit
thanks
to
his
former
colleague’s
actions.
“It
brings
shame
on
all
of
us
as
lawyers.
It’s
another
lawyer
joke:
Dewey
Cheatem
and
Howe,”
Weston
said.
“We
lost
all
of
our
young
lawyers
because
they
didn’t
want
to
be
associated
with
the
firm.”Following
the
sentence,
Weston
said
the
period
of
time
from
discovering
Diamond’s
fraud
to
Wednesday’s
sentencing
has
been
“painful
and
ugly,”
but
it
“turned
out
the
way
it
should.”“I
am
sad
the
whole
thing
happened.
I
don’t
like
for
anyone
to
go
to
jail
but
I
also
don’t
like
when
lawyers
get
away
with
theft,”
Weston
said.
Weston
filed
a
civil
suit
against
Diamond
to
recoup
full
restitution
for
the
firm,
and
says
he
will
drop
it
if
and
when
he
receives
the
full
amount.
Diamond’s
lawyer,
on
the
other
hand,
says
his
client
has
already
paid
full
restitution.
The
moral
of
the
story
is
an
easy
one
for
lawyers
to
remember:
don’t
steal
from
your
firm,
even
if
you
think
you’re
owed
money.
You’re
probably
going
to
get
caught
and
you’ll
likely
wind
up
behind
bars.
Ex-Sacks
Weston
Partner
Sentenced
to
6
Months
in
Prison,
6
Months
House
Arrest
[Legal
Intelligencer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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