FRANKFORT, Kentucky — A federal jury in Frankfort, Ky., on Friday convicted two disbarred attorneys accused of scamming their clients out of millions of dollars from a diet-drug settlement, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
It was the second trial for William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham. A different federal jury last year failed to reach a verdict for Gallion and Cunningham, though the jury acquitted a third defendant, the Enquirer said.
Prosecutors charged Gallion and Cunningham with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and eight counts of wire fraud, claiming they bilked 440 clients who said they had been hurt by the diet drug fen-phen.
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The combination of two drugs sold by American Home Products, now known as Wyeth, was withdrawn from the market in 1997 after it caused serious heart problems in some patients.
Defense attorney Hale Almand said the two attorneys were following the advice of a nationally known class action expert in divvying up the $200 million settlement to clients, the Enquirer said.
The Associated Press said the two attorneys will have to forfeit the $94.6 million they are accused of taking from their clients.
The jury had been deliberating since early Thursday  following a trial that lasted several weeks.
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Photo credit: “Magic Pills” by Flickr user e-magic.
