Sob Story

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered the suspension of an attorney convicted of federal criminal offenses.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had this February 2015 story on the criminal case

A Pittsburgh lawyer waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to bank fraud in connection with several schemes, including embezzling from his law firm.

Erik Sobkiewicz, 51, of Morewood Avenue in Squirrel Hill, was charged directly by the U.S. attorney’s office in November.

Prosecutors said he used the resources of his Grant Street law firm, Campbell and Levine, to “advance his own personal wealth.” He sent invoices from the firm to companies he controlled, unknown to firm, knowing that the invoices would not be paid.

The bogus billings “lulled the law firm into believing” that what he was doing was legitimate and allowed him to tap into the law firm’s money, prosecutors said.

He then diverted money from a real estate closing owed to the law firm to a personal account and diverted client funds held in the firm’s escrow account his personal account.

He also was involved in several complex loan fraud schemes, prosecutors said, involving Indiana First Savings Bank in Indiana, Pa., and Milestone Bank in Doylestown, Pa.

In the first scheme, he applied for a series of loans from the Indiana bank. For the last of them, which was for $350,000, he used the securities account of a person identified only as “RG” as collateral for the loan without RG’s permission.

He also falsely represented that the bank would be in first lien position with regard to two properties he owned that would serve as collateral when he had already borrowed money from another bank and also promised that institution the first lien position.

He pulled a similar scheme involving Milestone bank and a Philadelphia property he said he was developing.

Sentencing was set for May before U.S. District Judge David Cercone.

Final discipline for the offenses will be determined when the disciplinary process is completed. (Mike Frisch)