Billing For Unperformed Indigent Defense Work Leads To Conviction, Disbarment And Ten Year Prison Sentence

The Iowa Supreme Court recently accepted the consent disbarment of an attorney convicted of theft.

The Des Moines Register reported on the crimes

A former Spencer attorney who pleaded guilty to a charge that he overbilled the state nearly $178,000 was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Attorney Ney McDaniel had been improperly paid at least $177,755, mostly for hours he didn’t work while being under contract to represent indigent Iowans between 2007 and 2011, a state audit released in 2013 showed.

McDaniel was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge. Clay County District Court Judge Patrick Tott on Friday sentenced McDaniel to prison, fined him $1,000 and ordered him to repay the money he was improperly paid.

“We’re satisfied…We think the prison sentence sends a strong message,” Assistant Attorney General Robert Sand said Friday.

He had been suspended on an interim basis as a result of the guilty plea. ( Mike Frisch)