West Allis lawyer charged with embezzling from clients
Randy Wynn
Bar None
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- Part 2: Clients kept in the dark
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Proof and Hearsay Blog
Crime, courts and legal issues in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin
A West Allis lawyer who told authorities in 2012 that he was stealing from clients has finally been charged criminally for his conduct.
Randy Wynn faces two counts of embezzlement over $10,000, but the criminal complaint indicates his illegal take over four years was closer to $800,000. Wynn, 61, made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.
A year ago, Wynn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was under investigation. He blamed the thefts on a gambling addiction and said he finally reported himself to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office and the state Supreme Court in November 2012.
"I'm cooperating 100% with everybody," Wynn said then. "I don't want to come off as someone who is running from this. ... No one caught me doing anything." He declined to comment further Thursday and referred questions to his attorney, Steven Kohn.
By July, he said he expected to be charged and deserved whatever punishment he gets, even prison. In August, his license to practice law was suspended, although a dissenting justice said he should be disbarred immediately.
The criminal complaint's two counts cover embezzlement in 2009 through 2010, and 2011 through September 2012. Wynn told investigators he had been stealing from clients for six or seven years, and at first was able to repay some of the embezzled client funds. But it wasn't until the DA's office completed a full review of Wynn's records that it was determined he took about $780,000 from about 200 clients.
The only victim mentioned in the complaint is Benkowski Builders of South Milwaukee. Wynn had been charging the company an hourly rate, plus a third of recoveries, for pursuing debtors to Benkowski. But he began to keep many of the payments that debtors were sending, and estimated he took about $33,000 in all that should have gone to Benkowski Builders.
The company's owner told investigators the loss was really more like $250,000 because the cases Wynn was diverting all become uncollectable debt for accounting purposes.
Wynn, a resident of Fox Point, is a 1979 graduate of Marquette Law School.
Randy Wynn faces two counts of embezzlement over $10,000, but the criminal complaint indicates his illegal take over four years was closer to $800,000. Wynn, 61, made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.
A year ago, Wynn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was under investigation. He blamed the thefts on a gambling addiction and said he finally reported himself to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office and the state Supreme Court in November 2012.
"I'm cooperating 100% with everybody," Wynn said then. "I don't want to come off as someone who is running from this. ... No one caught me doing anything." He declined to comment further Thursday and referred questions to his attorney, Steven Kohn.
By July, he said he expected to be charged and deserved whatever punishment he gets, even prison. In August, his license to practice law was suspended, although a dissenting justice said he should be disbarred immediately.
The criminal complaint's two counts cover embezzlement in 2009 through 2010, and 2011 through September 2012. Wynn told investigators he had been stealing from clients for six or seven years, and at first was able to repay some of the embezzled client funds. But it wasn't until the DA's office completed a full review of Wynn's records that it was determined he took about $780,000 from about 200 clients.
The only victim mentioned in the complaint is Benkowski Builders of South Milwaukee. Wynn had been charging the company an hourly rate, plus a third of recoveries, for pursuing debtors to Benkowski. But he began to keep many of the payments that debtors were sending, and estimated he took about $33,000 in all that should have gone to Benkowski Builders.
The company's owner told investigators the loss was really more like $250,000 because the cases Wynn was diverting all become uncollectable debt for accounting purposes.
Wynn, a resident of Fox Point, is a 1979 graduate of Marquette Law School.
Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/headlines/west-allis-lawyer-charged-with-embezzling-from-clients-b99191161z1-241910381.html#ixzz2rnUeOAgN
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