Matthew Glowicki

Louisville Courier Journal

A Louisville attorney pleaded guilty Monday to taking nearly $1.7 million from the estates of elderly clients intended for Catholic charities and churches that instead was gambled away.

David Cary Ford, 53, admitted to wire fraud and money laundering and could face up to 40 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. Ford is expected to learn his fate June 6 at sentencing in U.S. District Court in Louisville.

He’ll be required to pay about $1.55 million to 14 organizations including the WHAS Crusade for Children, the Archdiocese of Louisville and the Little Sisters of the Poor. He also was ordered to pay restitution to seven individuals named as beneficiaries totaling nearly $48,000.

As the executor of the estates, Ford was allowed to pay expenses of the estates, a power that he abused by personally withdrawing and spending that money, according to the court.

Ford admitted to taking about $1.67 million between November 2008 and February 2015 while serving as executor of the estates of Saundra Benzinger, Kenneth Keith, William Lawson, Mary Helen Pfeffer, Elinor Starr, Mary Augustine Starr and Richard Steinmetz, and using the funds for "personal expenses and enjoyment," which included "significant gambling activity."

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Court documents show Ford took $35,960 from Elinor Starr’s estate to pay $25,000 to beneficiaries of the Keith estate.

Speaking to the Courier-Journal last week, Ford’s attorney Patrick Renn said the stolen money is gone, lost to Ford’s gambling addiction.

"There are no winners in this case, other than Horseshoe and other casinos," Renn said.

Prosecutors stated in court they intend to seek a 51- to 63-month sentence. A judge will make a final determination at sentencing.

U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn Jr. said in a statement Monday that Ford’s actions constituted a breach of trust.

“Attorneys are professionally and ethically bound to serve their clients’ best interests,” he said. “We simply cannot tolerate attorneys or any other fiduciaries using their positions of trust to steal from those they are obligated to protect.”

Court records show Ford handled more than 200 cases involving wills. The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment last week on whether FBI and IRS agents, who investigated the case, have found other discrepancies.

Reporter Andy Wolfson contributed to this story. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.

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