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By Joel Frady
Disbarred attorney Michelle T. Shepherd spoke through tears
in the Ashe County Courthouse on Monday,
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April 6, apologizing to both her victims and her family after
pleading guilty to 16 felony counts of Class-C embezzlement
and 11 counts of obtaining property under false pretense, 10
of which were for amounts greater than $100,000.
"I know there is nothing I can say that will make this
better for anyone," said Shepherd. "There's no excuse
… I'm still trying to understand and come to terms with
how and why this happened."
Shepherd later claimed that she was "working too many hours"
and that she had "million and millions of dollars"
going through her hands, and that she had simply wanted the
best for her family before the situation "snowballed out
of control."
During the two-hour proceedings, District Attorney Tom Horner
detailed how Shepherd embezzled $5.5 million from more than
275 victims over an eight-year span, beginning in 2000 and ending
when police began investigating Shepherd in May 2008. In total,
it was one of the single largest thefts by a single attorney
in North Carolina history.
Wade Colvard of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation said
that Shepherd purchased "numerous personal assets,"
ranging from plots of land to a 31-foot camper and a hybrid
Lexus SUV, with money that clients had given to her for mortgage
payment and title insurance.
Horner said that Shepherd's actions have caused life-altering
financial issues for her victims; some of them have lost their
houses or their retirement savings, while others are facing
bankruptcy. The losses didn't just affect individuals, either:
A.F. Bank is claiming a loss of $1.9 million in the matter,
while the North Carolina Bar Association has paid more than
$275,000 (and is about to pay another $300,000) to some of Shepherd's
clients.
Only one of Shepherd's clients, Robert Frankwick, took the stand.
He claimed that Shepherd caused approximately $380,000 in damage
that has ruined his credit rating (it dropped from 802 in April
2008 to 671 in January 2009) and has left him and his wife Leslie
"emotionally exhausted."
Frankwick said that his problems were caused by "no other
reason than the fraud perpetrated on us by the defendant"
and urged the court to "meat out punishment that matches
the crime."
Defense attorneys Dudley Witt and David Freedman presented more
than 200 letters from members of the community, including attorneys
and ministers, in an attempt to highlight the work Shepherd
did for her church and her community. Approximately two dozen
people in attendance also stood on Witt's request to show their
support.
Witt said that the "other message" in the case was
how Shepherd acted once the investigation started.
"If you do the right things after you make a mistake, you
should get credit for it," he said. Freedman added that
Shepherd is "a good human being … and she is capable
of rehabilitation."
Horner argued that claim, noting that she committed the crimes
over an eight-year period and didn't confess until she was caught.
"She made her bed, and now she's going to have to sleep
in it," said Horner. He later added that "there's
no excuse for the devastation that she has perpetrated on these
innocent people."
The court took a 10-minute recess after the closing arguments.
Shortly after 4 p.m., Superior Court Judge Edwin Wilson Jr.,
stated that the charges had been reduced to three Class-C felonies,
and that each charge carries a minimum sentence of 60 months
in prison up to a maximum of 81 months, without the possibility
of parole.
In total, Shepherd was sentenced to a minimum of 180 months
(15 years) up to a maximum of 243 months (20 years, three months).
Despite the sentence, Shepherd said that she was glad she was
caught.
"The whole thing was eating at my soul," she said.
"I cannot ever apologize enough to the victims and my family."
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