Richard D. Schultz may have dug his own small niche into the landscape of white-collar crime.
Schultz, a highly successful businessman from Columbus, Ohio, was never accused of bilking investors of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, like executives of Tyco, Enron, WorldCom and the like.
Instead, he distinguished himself by enlisting a bevy of lawyers to aid him in a series of scams to hide millions of dollars of his own money from a court judgment. He then turned state's evidence against members of his legal team, leading to their indictment and what even prosecutors acknowledge was a "very good deal" for himself.
So far, one attorney has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to federal prison for helping Schultz hide $9 million from creditors and the federal government. Three others and an accountant have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. A fifth attorney is awaiting a trial in January. A sixth committed suicide the day after he was indicted.
Read all about this sad (and complicated) saga here from The National Law Journal.