Former Rhode Island personal injury attorney Peter P.D. Leach has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for conducting a Ponzi scheme with his clients' settlement funds. United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced the sentencing, which includes an order for Leach to repay the defrauded clients.
Leach pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and tax evasion, admitting that he forged client signatures and deposited their settlement checks into his attorney IOLTA account. He used these funds for personal expenses and to repay earlier clients whose money he had embezzled. To sustain the scheme, Leach misled clients about the status of their cases and falsely claimed he would pay their medical expenses with settlement funds.
From 2014-2019, Leach also took steps to hide his gains from the IRS by making false statements on forms regarding his assets, lying to IRS Revenue officers about his financial situation, withdrawing over $540,000 from IOLTA accounts for personal use, and transferring money from client accounts to family members' accounts.
“Peter Leach egregiously abused the core responsibility of any lawyer - the trust of his clients – to help himself to money that belonged to victims of accidents and tragedies," stated U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. "Today’s sentence provides not just accountability but hopefully a chance for his victims to recover some of the funds that he stole from them."
Thomas E. Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI Boston, commented on the case: “While it is the expectation that a person can trust their attorney, Leach used his position to take advantage of his clients."
U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin sentenced Leach to 33 months in prison followed by two years of federal supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $299,774.41 to his victims and an expected additional payment of $320,622.76 to the IRS for unpaid taxes.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra R. Hebert and Denise M. Barton after investigations conducted by the Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
