Larry Mackey of Barnes & Thornburg |

Barnes & Thornburg partner Larry Mackey, a former federal prosecutor in the Oklahoma City bombing case, has been hit with accusations from an erstwhile client—now in prison on a securities fraud charge—who claims Mackey had a secret relationship with his wife.

The claim arose in the case of Keenan Hauke, a former investment manager and owner of now-defunct hedge fund Samex Capital Advisors LLC, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in prison. Hauke filed a petition on Dec. 6 in Indiana federal court asserting that Mackey provided ineffective counsel as a result of an alleged relationship with Hauke's ex-wife, Sarah.

In December 2011, Hauke submitted a guilty plea to securities fraud, admitting to a multiyear scheme that involved soliciting millions of dollars from investors under false pretenses and misleading investors about the return rates on their investments, among other misdeeds. Beyond the prison sentence, Hauke was ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution to 67 fraud victims.

Mackey, who is based in Barnes & Thornburg's Indianapolis office, represented Hauke in early 2011, but the representation ended before criminal charges were ever brought against Hauke, who was later represented by a public defender. Mackey married Hauke's ex-wife in July 2012; her name is now Sarah Mackey. The two live together in Indianapolis with Sarah Mackey's three children.

In his recent filing, Hauke claims that Mackey began his relationship with Sarah while she was still married to Hauke and while Mackey was still representing Hauke. The petition also alleges that once Hauke discovered the relationship, Mackey and Sarah urged Hauke not to say anything about it, so as not to “bring more harmful attention” to Hauke and Sarah's three children.

“Petitioner depended upon Mackey during the most turbulent period of his life, needed him to negotiate on his behalf and protect petitioner's interests,” Hauke wrote in his petition. “Instead, Mackey lied to petitioner.”

Hauke's petition was first reported Thursday by the Indianapolis Business Journal, a publication for which Hauke previously wrote an investment column before his legal difficulties began. On Thursday, the IBJ noted that Hauke and his wife separated in 2011, while the former investment adviser was still under investigation. The two then entered a divorce that was finalized in late 2011.

Hauke's petition likely faces tough odds. Under his 2011 plea agreement with prosecutors, he expressly waived his right to file a petition for ineffective assistance of counsel under section 2255. Yet, that is the exact type of filing he submitted in court on Dec. 6.

Mackey on Friday referred a request for comment to Barnes & Thornburg's press representative.

“Mr. Mackey denies the allegations,” a spokesman for the lawyer said. “We trust the courts to fully evaluate these claims as they must any prisoner filing.”

Mackey's practice at Barnes & Thornburg focuses on white-collar criminal defense and complex litigation. He joined the firm in 1998 after nearly two decades as a federal prosecutor and a stint before that as a state prosecutor, according to his online firm biography. He was heavily involved in two criminal cases arising out of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, delivering the closing arguments in the case against Timothy McVeigh and leading the case against the other defendant, Terry Nichols. Both resulted in convictions.