Boston lawyer receives more than three-year federal prison sentence for stealing over $2 million from clients

Federal sentence follows thefts from escrow and a supplemental needs trust, prosecutors said

A Boston-area attorney has been sentenced in federal court to a prison term of just over three years after admitting he stole more than $2 million belonging to clients and others who had entrusted him with funds. The sentence marks the latest high-profile case in Massachusetts involving alleged misuse of client-held money—an issue that courts and regulators treat as particularly serious because it undermines the fiduciary duties at the center of legal representation.

The lawyer, Patrick J. Dolan, 60, of North Attleboro and Haverhill, had previously been charged with four counts of wire fraud in a case that focused on client funds held in accounts under his control. Federal prosecutors said the conduct stretched across multiple years and involved both litigation-related escrow money and a separate trust established to benefit a client.

How prosecutors said the scheme worked

Court filings described a pattern in which Dolan held money for clients and other individuals and then diverted it for personal use. Prosecutors alleged that, between November 2018 and November 2024, he took more than $2 million that was being held in escrow pending the outcome of a family trust lawsuit in which he represented one of the parties.

Prosecutors also alleged Dolan stole at least $87,500 from a supplemental needs trust he had established for another client. Investigators said the trust money was used as part of a down payment toward real property in Haverhill where Dolan later lived with his family.

• Escrow funds tied to a family trust lawsuit were alleged to have been siphoned from accounts Dolan controlled.
• Additional money was alleged to have been taken from a supplemental needs trust created for a client.
• Prosecutors alleged the funds were used for personal and household expenses, including mortgage-related payments, education-related costs, and other personal purchases.

Allegations of concealment and why the case was charged as wire fraud

Prosecutors said Dolan attempted to conceal the thefts by moving money through accounts connected to family members or shell companies and by making false statements about the status of the funds. They also alleged that bank statements and accounting records were falsified as part of the effort to disguise missing client money.

The case was brought under federal wire fraud statutes, which address schemes to defraud carried out through interstate communications such as electronic transfers. In the charging stage, prosecutors noted that wire fraud can carry a statutory maximum of up to 20 years in prison, along with supervised release and potential financial penalties, though actual sentences are determined under federal guidelines and the specific facts of each case.

The allegations centered on client funds placed in the lawyer’s control, including escrow money and a supplemental needs trust.

What remains central: recovery of client funds

While the prison sentence resolves the criminal accountability component, cases involving misappropriated client funds frequently raise broader, longer-running questions about restitution, financial recovery, and the downstream impacts on beneficiaries whose money was supposed to remain protected. Federal courts can order restitution as part of sentencing, and victims may also pursue recovery through other legal avenues depending on the circumstances.

Dolan’s case underscores the heightened scrutiny placed on lawyers who handle client funds and the legal consequences that can follow when fiduciary safeguards fail.