Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 8, 1994 TAG: 9403080041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The allegations against George W. Harris III were contained in three embezzlement indictments returned by a grand jury in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Harris, 34, earlier had been charged with writing at least $18,000 in bad checks - charges to which he is scheduled to plead guilty next month, according to court records.
The new embezzlement charges stem from the disappearance of nearly $50,000 from three trust accounts established for underage beneficiaries of life insurance policies, according to search warrants filed in November in Circuit Court.
Clients had given Harris power of attorney in the three accounts.
According to the warrants, Harris was granted power of attorney in 1992 over Teresa Lynn Newbill in Franklin County. Newbill, 17, was the beneficiary of her grandfather's life insurance policy, and $32,000 was placed in a trust fund for her.
After withdrawing about $8,900, Newbill was told by Harris that she could not take any more money from the fund, the warrants state.
After hiring a new lawyer, Newbill reportedly discovered the $32,000 trust fund had been depleted to a balance of $791.
The warrants outline similar allegations in which $19,000 was discovered to be missing from a second account and more than $5,000 from a third.
Meanwhile, Harris faces at least 15 charges of writing more than $18,000 in bad checks in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem. He is accused of writing checks for up to $2,000 on his account and cashing them, knowing there was not enough in his account to cover them.
Harris is scheduled to plead guilty to the bad check charges on April 5, according to court records.
Because Harris is the son of General District Judge George Harris, local judges have declined the case. James Lumpkin, a retired judge from Richmond, was appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court to hear the case.
Harris continued to practice law after the bad check charges were filed last summer, but voluntarily surrendered his license in January.
by CNB