Tag Archive for 'William Gallion'

Fen-phen jury: Gallion and Cunningham guilty on all counts

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on April 3, 2009
in U.S. District Court
. 11 Comments
By Beth Musgrave - bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — After deliberating for two days, seven women and five men convicted William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. of conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud.

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

This is the second trial for Gallion and Cunningham on charges that they took millions of dollars from 440 former clients in a 2001 fen-phen settlement. Their first trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deliberated for eight days but could not reach a verdict. Melbourne Mills Jr., who was originally charged with Gallion and Cunningham, was acquitted by the same jury.

Prosecutors say Gallion and Cunningham lied and deliberately told half-truths about what happened to the $200 million settlement so all of the lawyers on the case could keep the bulk of the settlement.

Defense attorneys said that Gallion and Cunningham knew little about class-action law at the time the case was settled. If mistakes were made ,those mistakes were unintentional, they argued.

Stephen Dobson, a lawyer for Cunningham, said there was little evidence or testimony that showed that Cunningham was directly involved in the negotiations of the settlement or how the money was disbursed after the case was settled.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Attorney’s illness causes concern, delays in fen-phen case

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on March 17, 2009
in U.S. District Court
. 5 Comments
By Brandon Ortiz - bortiz@herald-leader.com

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

FRANKFORT — The retrial of two former lawyers accused of taking millions of dollars from their clients has been postponed until Thursday morning because a defense attorney is ill.

Georgia lawyer O. Hale Almand, who represents William Gallion, became dizzy about 4 p.m. Monday in U.S. District Court. Testimony ended early for the day.

It was the third time the trial has been postponed due to Almand’s health. The trial was delayed for a week the first week in March.

Almand’s health triggered concerns that U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves might have to declare a second mistrial. But Almand told a lawyer who is temporarily representing Gallion that he just needs rest and expects to be ready for trial Thursday.

Almand has an ear infection that affects his balance, Reeves said.

Cunningham and Gallion are accused of taking $94 million that should gone to former fen-phen diet-drug users in the 2001 settlement of a $200 million lawsuit.

Federal prosecutors and Cunningham’s lawyer, Stephen Dobson, told Reeves they want to avoid a mistrial. The judge said he would research whether he can declare a mistrial for Gallion but continue the case for Cunningham.

Coffey was ordered to report back on Almand’s condition by Wednesday afternoon. Reeves was to conduct a hearing at 4 p.m. if Almand is not feeling better.

Cunningham and Gallion’s first trial resulted in a mistrial after jurors could not reach a verdict. A third lawyer, Melbourne Mills Jr., was acquitted.

Cunningham and Gallion are charged with wire fraud and conspiracy.

Prosecutors were questioning their final witness on Monday. The former lawyers are expected to present their case after the last witness concludes his testimony.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Defense attorney in fen-phen case ready for February trial

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on January 22, 2009
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments
By Brandon Ortiz - bortiz@herald-leader.com

After months of pleading with a federal judge to reschedule the trial of two Lexington-area lawyers accused of cheating their clients out of millions of dollars, a defense lawyer now says he will be able to participate in the trial.

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

O. Hale Almand Jr. filed a notice Thursday that he’s withdrawing his motion to withdraw from the case. Almand said that a case he had in Georgia that was supposed to go to trial this week was dismissed. It was to last three to four weeks.

Another trial, slated to begin March 9 in Mississippi, was rescheduled so it would not conflict with Almand’s defense of William Gallion.

Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., are scheduled for trial Feb. 17 on wire fraud charges. They’re accused of defrauding 440 clients out of $94 million in a lawsuit settlement with the company that made the diet drug fen-phen.

Almand had been trying to withdraw from the case because he said he did not have enough time to prepare a new defense for Gallion. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves rejected numerous requests to reschedule the trial so it would not conflict with Almand’s two other cases.

Reach Brandon Ortiz at (859) 231-1443 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1443.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Two fen-phen lawyers disbarred

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on October 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

By Jim Warren
jwarren@herald-leader.com

Fen-phen lawyers William Gallion and Shirley Allen Cunningham Jr. have been permanently disbarred from legal practice by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

The court entered orders Thursday afternoon disbarring both attorneys and, under terms of those orders, neither man can ever apply for reinstatement to the Kentucky Bar.

According to the orders, both Cunningham and Gallion had filed motions with the high court asking that they be disbarred.

And, under terms of the orders, both Gallion and Cunningham essentially admitted many of the ethical violations that federal prosecutors have alleged in an on-going case against them involving their handling of a $200-million fen-phen settlement.

Gallion, Cunningham and another attorney, Melborne Mills Jr., were tried on criminal mail fraud charges in federal court this summer. A federal jury at Covington acquitted Mills, but could not reach a verdict in the cases of Cunningham and Gallion.

They are scheduled for a retrial in federal court at Frankfort early next year.

Reach Jim Warren at 1-800-959-06397 Ext. 3255 or 859-231-3255

Share/Save/Bookmark

Date set for fen-phen lawyers’ second trial

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on September 11, 2008
in Courts
. 4 Comments

COVINGTON — Two Lexington-area lawyers accused of taking millions of dollars from their former clients in a diet drug settlement pleaded not guilty Thursday to eight new charges of wire fraud.

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. on charges of conspiracy and eight new charges of wire fraud.

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

Shirley Cunningham Jr. (left), William Gallion (right)

The men were charged in 2007 with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 

The two men were arraigned on the new charges Thursday morning in U.S. District Court.

Gallion signed paperwork for a $2.5 million property bond. He was released Thursday afternoon. Cunningham already had been released. Cunningham already had been released.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves set a trial date for Nov. 17.

A mistrial was declared in their first trial, in July, after a jury could not decide whether Gallion and Cunningham were guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Gallion, Cunningham and a third lawyer, Melbourne Mills Jr., were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2007.

A jury acquitted Mills of all charges in July. Cunningham was released from the Boone County Jail on bond on Aug. 27.

The lawyers sued fen-phen maker American Home Products in Boone Circuit Court and settled the case for $200 million in 2001. Federal prosecutors say Gallion and Cunningham took $94 million — an increase of nearly $30 million from the previous indictment — that should have gone to 440 former clients, according to the indictment.

The indictment outlines a series of monetary transactions between Cunningham’s and Gallion’s bank accounts and accounts designated solely for client money.

If convicted, Gallion and Cunningham could face a maximum of 180 years in prison. However, it is rare for someone to get the maximum sentence.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Judge denies request to postpone fen-phen retrial

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on September 5, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

The Associated Press

A federal judge in northern Kentucky has declined to postpone the retrial of two attorneys charged in a diet drug settlement case.

The Courier-Journal reported Friday that U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves called a delay unacceptable and ordered a trial date be set within 70 days of Sept. 11.

William J. Gallion and Shirley Cunningham had asked that the trial be pushed back to April.

An indictment charges the two with eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud 440 clients of $94.6 million in Kentucky’s fen-phen diet-drug case.

Gallion’s lawyer had sought the delay due to conflicts with other clients.

The two men went to trial in Covington in July on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but the jury could not reach a verdict.

The lawyers are accused of overpaying themselves from the $200 million settlement.

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

Share/Save/Bookmark