VERO BEACH — Richard L. Brown, who once practiced law on Vero’s barrier island, plead guilty Thursday to charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud which could land him in prison for up to 50 years.
Brown, 44, admitted to Judge Robert Pegg that he stole several hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients over the years and even bilked St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital out of money from an estate.
Some of Brown’s charges also involved money stolen from a joint account with his former wife, Vero Beach interior designer Natalie Holtom Brown.
As part of the plea deal negotiated between Brown’s defense attorney John Unruh and Assistant State Attorney Lev Evans, Brown also agreed to be permanently disbarred by the Florida Bar Association.
During the brief hearing, Evans fired off the names of close to a dozen victims and told the judge the approximate amount that Brown had stolen from them.
Evans then looked over at Brown and asked if he accepted everything he had just said as true.
“Yes,” responded Brown.
Many of the victims attended the nine-minute hearing in Indian River County, but there was no opportunity for them to speak. The victims will be allowed to offer statements as part of a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 18.
He faces a minimum of 20 months in prison and a maximum sentence of 50 years.
