Josiah E. Hutton also was ordered to pay $93,255 in restitution to the victim by U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore. <\/p>\n
TAMPA A 60-year-old former attorney from Winter Haven has been sentenced to six months in federal prison followed by six months of home confinementfor concealing assets from a bankruptcy estate. <\/p>\n
Josiah E. Huttonalso was ordered to pay $93,255 in restitution to the victim by U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore. <\/p>\n
Hutton pled guilty in March and had faced amaximum sentence of five years in prison. <\/p>\n
According to the plea agreement, Hutton was retained to represent a debtor who was planning to file for bankruptcy. In anticipation of filing a bankruptcy petition, Hutton received a settlement check, which was property of the debtors bankruptcy estate, and deposited it into his attorney escrow account. <\/p>\n
Hutton later prepared and certified the debtors bankruptcy petition, yet he failed to list the settlement check as an asset, thereby concealing the asset from creditors and the Bankruptcy Court. <\/p>\n
The Florida Bar shows he had been practicing law since 1989, most recently in Fort Myers, but the Polk County Property Appraisers Office website shows he has owned a house on Lake Otis in Winter Haven since 1991 and claims homestead exemptions on that property. <\/p>\n
He has been disbarred, according to the Florida Bar website. <\/p>\n
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Excerpt from: <\/p>\n
Winter Haven attorney gets prison for concealing assets in ... - News Chief<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Josiah E. Hutton also was ordered to pay $93,255 in restitution to the victim by U.S. Continue reading