Lawyer gets 11 years in fraud case

By Amanda Stewart

Published: November 15, 2008

A former Woodbridge lawyer was sentenced Friday to 11 years in federal prison for defrauding his clients of close to $4 million.

Stephen Conrad, 40, of Purcellville, pleaded guilty in August to a federal fraud charge at U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Conrad worked as a personal injury lawyer in Woodbridge from 2003 to December 2007.

During that time Conrad settled hundreds of claims without his clients' knowledge, forging their signatures and taking the settlement money for himself, according to federal court documents.

In many cases Conrad told his clients that their cases were still ongoing after he had settled them, the court docu-ments state.

The FBI said Conrad took more than $3.97 million from 255 victims, including his clients, medical providers and insurance companies.

Conrad used the money to pay his mortgage, credit card bills, travel and other expenses, prosecutors said.

In court documents, Conrad's lawyer, Michael S. Nachmanoff, said that Conrad suffered from addictions to gambling and prescription drugs that "clouded his judgment."

"He took from his clients, all the while maintaining the vain hope that he would be able to pay all of his cli-ents back with the resolution of one large case," Nachmanoff wrote.

In addition to the prison time, Conrad was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.