A former Portland, Oregon, attorney defrauded injured clients of millions of dollars in insurance payments and then spent some of the money on lavish trips to a strip resort, an African safari, and other destinations, federal prosecutors said.
Lory and. Deveny, 57, was sentenced this week to more than eight years in prison in an insurance scheme in which she stole more than $3.8 million from at least 135 customers between 2011 and 2019 and then used the money to “finance a luxurious life.” The US Department of Justice said in a press release.
“It is difficult to overstate the extraordinary impact Ms. Deveny’s crimes have had on the many innocent and vulnerable victims who have placed their trust in her,” said Ethan Knight, head of the Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit. of the United States.
“As a former lawyer, she had a special responsibility to her clients and the public, but she repeatedly abused that trust and put her own needs first. This is a fair sentence for serious crimes.”
Deveny stole clients’ identities and then forged insurance checks and deposited the funds into her personal bank account, court documents show. He then deceived her clients by telling them that compensation for their various injuries would eventually appear in their bank accounts, according to court documents.
“The cruelest thing of all is knowingly giving false hope,” said Special Agent in Charge Bret Kressin, IRS Criminal Investigation, Seattle Field Office. “After suffering losses, Ms. Deveny’s clients deserved an attorney to represent their best interests. What they got instead was someone who inflicted more casualties.
Deveny received what she never provided to her clients: “a picture of the reality that those who choose to defraud will face the consequences of their actions,” Kressin added. The Justice Department noted in its press release that “many of Deveny’s victims were especially vulnerable to his criminal behavior after they suffered serious brain and body injuries and never received the insurance payments due to them.”
Deveny spent $150,000 on domestic and overseas airline tickets, $173,000 on African safaris and big game hunting trips, and $60,000 on trips to a luxury resort in Palm Springs, California, according to the Justice Department.
She spent $35,000 on taxidermy fees, apparently from her big hunting trips, $195,000 on his mortgage, a whopping $220,000 on cigars, and a total of $91,000 on a Cadillac and RV expenses. She also spent $58,000 on pet retirement and veterinary bills, according to the Justice Department.
Deveny pleaded guilty in June 2022 to one count of mail, wire, and bank fraud. She also pleaded guilty to money laundering, filing a false tax return, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
On Monday, she was ordered to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution to her victims.
“While serving as an attorney, Ms. Deveny brazenly stole money that was supposed to be used to pay for her clients’ medical treatment for serious injuries and illnesses,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, special agent in charge of the local branch of the FBI in Portland.
“Instead, that money funded things like big game hunting trips to Africa and home renovations,” Ramsey said in a statement. “She took advantage of physically and emotionally suffering people by forging insurance checks, stealing funds, and lying to his clients about payments.”
