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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowValparaiso attorney Clark Holesinger, charged last month with four felony counts alleging he stole more than $1.6 million from clients, now faces a fifth count alleging theft from another client.
Charges against Holesinger were amended Monday in Porter Superior Court to add a charge of Class D felony theft. Holesinger has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also include four previously filed counts of Class C felony theft of more than $100,000.
A probable cause affidavit from the Porter County Sheriff’s Department led to the additional charge accusing Holesinger, 52, of skimming $6,313 last November from a client for whom he exercised power of attorney.
The client requested a transfer of $306,313 from a trust to a business account, but the probable cause accuses Holesinger of instead forging the client’s signature authorizing transfer of the sum to his trust account, then moving just $300,000 to the client’s business account.
Holesinger’s attorney, Thomas Vanes of Merrillville, could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.
The charges filed last month accuse Holesinger of stealing more than $1.6 million over the past three years from four businesses he represented. Charging information accuses Holesinger of stealing $817,962 from North Star Stone; $233,410 from RBF Island Investment LLC; $215,406 from ITF LLC; and $371,736 from Maridor LLC. All of the companies are located in Valparaiso and owned by Chris Andrews, according to the probable cause affidavit, which says Holesinger also had been Andrews’ family attorney since the mid-1990s.
A civil suit the businesses filed against Holesinger details the numerous checks that were written to pay taxes but instead were allegedly converted to Holesinger’s use, including 97 exhibits of alleged misappropriation. The suit seeks treble damages, attorney fees and accounting costs.
Admitted to practice in 1987, the Indiana Roll of Attorneys lists Holesinger’s law license status as active in good standing with no disciplinary history and no pending discipline.
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