A Fayette County attorney pleaded guilty to wire fraud this week in federal court for misusing more than $240,000 from his clients.
John William “JW” Eddy, 39, who previously served as Uniontown solicitor and an assistant district attorney, admitted before U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo in Harrisburg to misappropriating money from clients of his law practice between 2016-21, according to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus.
Eddy ran a private law practice and as an attorney representing members of the public, he was required to maintain a trust account for client funds, also known as an Interest on Lawyer Trust Account, Gurganus said.
The account was to be used to secure client funds, such as proceeds from legal settlements and fees advanced for services not yet performed. In court Wednesday, Eddy admitted that over the five-year span he misappropriated those client funds, Gurganus said.
The maximum penalty under federal law for wire fraud is 20 years in prison.
Rambo will schedule a sentencing hearing after a presentence investigation is completed. That has a deadline of April 6, according to court documents.
Eddy’s law license was also suspended for three years, , retroactive to September 2019, according to the state disciplinary board of the state Supreme Court. Eddy has practiced law since 2008, records show.
According to court papers, Eddy misused the trust account from June 2016 to early 2020 “for personal use.”
The deficit in May 2017 was $6,000, the filing said. The total amount that was misused grew to $242,976, prosecutors said.
Still, no clients lost any money.
Instead, Eddy received a series of personal loans to repay clients, according to documents.
Eddy has a history of depression but stopped receiving treatment and taking medication when his doctor retired in 2012, according to the state disciplinary board. In 2015, he developed a substance abuse problem, starting with prescription medication he received after surgery, the report said, and by 2017 had started using heroin and cocaine daily.
From 2017 to 2019, Eddy was occasionally treated for narcotics withdrawal and mental health issues, including several hospital admissions, the report said. During that period, the report continued, Eddy said he became careless with his trust account and client funds and allowed his records to fall into disarray.
State police arrested him in June 2019 on charges of drug possession and driving under the influence.
Eddy disclosed during his testimony to the board that he has been sober since October 2019, following hospitalization and inpatient treatment.
