Former Denver Attorney Sentenced for Financial Fraud

DENVER—A former Denver attorney has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to financial fraud charges, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. Prosecutors from Grissom’s office are serving as special counsel on the case, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Denver.

Robert T. McAllister, 62, Denver, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit financial fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud.

In his plea, McAllister admitted that from 2006 to 2011 he conspired to obtain wire transfers totaling more than $1 million in a scheme to obtain funds that were subject to a temporary restraining order entered by U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh for the Eastern District of Missouri, and then to use that money for a down payment on a house on Kelsie Court in Clark, Colorado.

As part of the conspiracy, McAllister embezzled funds from a client that he had agreed to hold in trust in an interest bearing account. He transferred the stolen funds into accounts he controlled and into an account belonging to a title company. Part of the money was applied to a down payment on the Kelsie Court residence, which was being purchased by co-defendant Elizabeth Whitney from McAllister as a straw buyer. In an application for a loan to buy the property, Whitney falsely represented that she had a monthly income of more than $39,000.

To cover up the fact McAllister had embezzled client funds, he prepared a series of phony bank statements to give the impression the clients’ money was safe and earning interest.

In March 2011, McAllister filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, containing materially false information, with intent to conceal the fact he was attempting to cause the bankruptcy court to transfer money he had previously embezzled.

A hearing on restitution in McAllister’s case is set for Oct. 9.

Sentencing for co-defendant Elizabeth Whitney, 59, Denver, has been continued to Oct. 9. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit financial fraud.

Grissom commended the IRS-Criminal Investigations, the FBI, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney for their work on the case. Hathaway and Kenney are serving as special counsel on the case.