Bird Marella attorneys Gary Lincenberg and Marc Masters successfully obtained a dismissal with prejudice of all charges against a Chicago attorney and NFL sports agent alleged to have participated in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The criminal complaint alleged the attorney was involved in a multimillion-dollar investment in which he and another defendant – who pled guilty – were alleged to have planned to buy 13 Burger King franchises in Virginia for $16 million, raise as much as $37 million from unknowing investors, and keep the extra cash (and secret part ownership) for themselves. After defense counsel demonstrated entrapment , Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the original conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge against the attorney in favor of a lesser misprision of a felony charge pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement in April 2015.
On April 7, 2016, the federal magistrate judge dismissed the case against the attorney in its entirety pursuant to the same deferred prosecution agreement.
