Joplin lawyer asks for delay in sentencing

Joplin lawyer Daniel Whitworth, who pleaded guilty in March to embezzling $586,739 from clients, is asking for a delay in his scheduled September 4 sentencing.

Whitworth's attorney, in documents filed Tuesday in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, asked for extra time because of a September 11 hearing of the Client Security Fund Committee of the Missouri Bar Association which will be about the clients whose money was taken by Whitworth.

Whitworth is cooperating with the investigation, his lawyer said, and the results of the hearing could have an impact on any restitution requirements in his sentencing.


Whitworth asked that his sentencing be moved to sometime between September 15 and November 24.

Whitworth's crime was spelled out in court documents.

"In his capacity as an attorney, the defendant received funds from his clients for the explicit purpose of resolving legal matters. The defendant was required to deposit fundsprovided by his clients into his attorney trust account. The defendant's clients had authorized him to withdraw those funds to pay expenses related to or to resolve legal cases.

"The defendant maintained an attorney trust account at Mid-Missouri Bank. The defendant also maintained personal bank accounts with Southwest Missouri Bank and CommerceBank.

"The defendant represented LP&F Trucking, Inc., who hired the defendant to settle a lawsuit with Lyddon Aero Center.

"At various times between January 2004 and October 18, 2013, the defendant took money from clients and deposited those funds into his attorney trust account, or a personal account. At various times, without the knowledge and approval of his clients, the defendant withdrew client funds from this trust account or a personal account to spend on personal expenses.

"These transactions resulted in a wire transmission between the defendant's accounts and either a client's accounts or the account of a party receiving an unauthorizedpayment.

"None of the defendant's clients gave the defendant authority to use any of the funds to pay his personal expenses."

According to the indictment, during an eight-day period in June 2012, Whitworth took $60,000 from LP&F Trucking, Inc.

He told the IRS he made only $40,242 in income for 2011, when he "well knew and believed, he had received additional unreported income of approximately $120,776."