Ex-Florida Lawyer Accused Of Stealing $60K From Clients Arrested

FLORIDA — A former Florida attorney accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his clients has been arrested, police confirmed Tuesday.

According to the Marianna Police Department, LaDray Gilbert has been charged with five counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering.

Police said they first began investigating The Gilbert Firm, P.A. in November following complaints from some of his clients.

During the investigation, police said they determined that Gilbert received settlement funds, at times unknowing to his clients, and failed to provide the victims with their portion of the settlement funds.

Police said Gilbert deposited these funds into a trust account and then collected money from the trust account for his personal benefit. The combined total amount that he failed to distribute to his clients was over $60,000.

After documents and financial records were reviewed by investigators, police said Gilbert would write checks or have checks written directly from the trust account to himself.

Pictured Below: LaDray Gilbert from the Marianna Police Department

On several occasions, police said Gilbert would have multiple checks written on the same date, that would total over $10,000, thus attempting to avoid the mandatory reporting. After he received the settlement checks, police said he would immediately collect a sum of money through various checks for attorney fees but failed to provide the victims with their portion.

A warrant was issued for Gilbert's arrest on Aug. 17, police said. He turned himself into the Jackson County Correctional Facility on Tuesday where he is awaiting his first appearance.