NEWS

Florence attorney charged with stealing from clients

Brenna R. Kelly, and Jim Hannah
Cincinnati
John Arnett

A veteran Florence lawyer who has been in jail for five months has been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients.

Boone County Sheriff's deputy's say John Arnett also forged court records and bank statements to cover up his thefts over the last 13 years.

In December, a Boone county judge ordered Arnett held in contempt after he could not account for $37,500.

Arnett, 67, is a Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law graduate who has been licensed in Kentucky and Ohio since 1976.

Sheriff's investigators, Boone County Attorney's Office and the Boone County Commonwealth Attorney's Office determined that Arnett gambled away his client's money, said Tom Scheben, Boone Sheriff's spokesman.

Arnett, of Union, is charged with five counts of felony theft and three counts of second-degree forgery.

The case came to light on Dec. 9, 2013, when Arnett could not disburse $82,389.62 to a couple and Judge Linda Bramlage of the Boone County Family Court had him jailed for contempt of court.

The unaccounted for money was part of $77,050 that had been placed in Arnett's escrow account in February 2012. The money was intended to be part of a divorce settlement between Tarri A. Hamblin and Robert Shane Hamblin.

Bramlage had first ordered Arnett to release the $37,500 owed to Tarri A. Hamblin by Oct. 30 after her attorneys told the judge she was in "dire need."

Bramlage ordered Arnett to be held until he could come up with the money. Arnett's incarceration left at least eight people with cases in Boone and Kenton courts without representation.

Since December, investigators have located additional victims, Scheben said. There could also be more undiscovered victims, he said.

Arnett faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges.