Rogers, 52, an attorney formerly licensed in the District of Columbia, with an office in Bowie, Maryland, who also served as a District of Columbia Hearing Examiner, was found guilty yesterday by federal jury sitting in the District of Columbia of 13 counts of mail fraud relating to a scheme that began in 1998 to defraud elderly clients and an estate of their money. The jury also found that the defendant should forfeit $385,000 to the government. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 and restitution of all victim losses. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant faces a likely sentence of approximately 60 months. The defendant will be sentenced on October 20, 2006, by the Honorable Richard W. Roberts.

According to the evidence at trial, Rogers practiced law from his home office in Bowie, Maryland, and handled the financial affairs of elderly clients and their estates in the Washington area. He designated several elderly women clients as his “priority” clients for whom he not only performed legal work, but also did household chores such as grocery shopping and running errands for these clients. By performing these household chores, the defendant gained his clients’ trust and induced them to turn over control of their finances to him as their fiduciary. After obtaining unlimited control over the clients’ financial assets, the defendant unlawfully diverted money from their accounts to his own for his own personal gain without their knowledge and consent. Rogers also transferred funds between the elderly clients’ accounts to conceal his diversions, and concealed his scheme by making false statements to elderly clients regarding the status of their funds and property.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Wainstein and Acting Assistant Director Persichini praised the work of FBI Special Agent John C. Cotter, FBI Special Agent Robert Core and former FBI Special Agent Deborah Martin. He also commended U.S. Attorney’s Office Legal Assistant Teesha Tobias, Legal Assistant April Peeler, Legal Assistant Barya Offer, Paralegal Jeannie Lattimore-Brown, Auditor Nicholas Novak and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Griffith, Diane Lucas and Virginia Cheatham.