A disbarred Georgia lawyer has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients.

Anthony Eugene Cheatham, now 63, had a solo law office on Main Street in Acworth handling real estate transactions and elder law. He was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1991 after graduating from Georgia State University College of Law. But the bar suspended his license in June 2018. The Georgia Supreme Court disbarred him in October 2018.

A bar special master and the Cobb County Sheriff's Office have investigated complaints that he diverted funds from clients' Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts.

In the per curiam decision on his disbarment, the high court detailed a real estate transaction gone bad.

“While Cheatham was suspended from the practice of law, he received into his IOLTA account a wire transfer of $140,600 from the purchasers to fund the purchase; he had also received a $1,000 check as earnest money. He converted the funds to his own use and commingled the funds with his personal funds,” the high court said.

Come closing time on July 13, 2017, Cheatham “did not have sufficient funds to promptly disburse the proceeds of the sale to the seller. Instead he made incremental payments and misled both the seller and purchasers about the reasons therefor. He issued one check for $56,880 on July 25, 2017, but stopped payment on the check the next day because he knew there were insufficient funds in his IOLTA account.”

The high court also said Cheatham failed to prepare and record the warranty deed, communicate with the parties about it, or account for the proceeds of the sale. Then he abandoned the transaction “to the detriment of the seller and purchasers.”

The high court agreed with the special master on disbarment in 2018.

On Monday, Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes announced a plea deal with Cheatham.

An investigation by the Cobb County Sheriff's Office found that as early as 2012, Cheatham began misappropriating money in IOLTA accounts entrusted to him by clients, many of whom were elderly, according to Holmes. Cheatham received client funds but then used the money to pay his bills, write personal checks to himself and family members—and make payments to other individuals from whom he had previously taken money. Holmes said Cheatham showed his clients phony documents and provided false excuses regarding their money.

The victims in this case, some of whom had over $100,000 stolen, have each been made whole, as Cheatham's family has managed to pay restitution in full, Homes said.

“Mr. Cheatham violated his position of trust as an attorney, and even more egregiously, did so against elderly clients,” Assistant District Attorney David Williamson said in the DA's news release. “It is unique that the state was able to secure full restitution upfront for all the victims, however, that does not excuse the defendant's behavior and the violation of the oath the defendant took as an attorney to uphold the law. As a result, Mr. Cheatham will never practice law again and will never work in any sort of position of trust, especially around the elderly.”

Cobb Superior Court Judge C. LaTain Kell accepted Cheatham's guilty pleas Friday to racketeering, unlicensed practice of law, six counts of theft, and four counts of elder exploitation. Kell sentenced Cheatham to 20 years, with one year to serve.

Cheatham has been in custody for more than a year and is scheduled to be released on time served.

Cheatham was represented by attorney John Rife of Cumming.

“Mr. Cheatham admitted his error in judgment and has made full restitution to all the persons named in that indictment. He has apologized to those people, the court, and the citizenry at large. The persons affected in the indictment asked the Court not to impose further confinement for Mr. Cheatham,” Rife said Monday by email. “He also thanks them for their graciousness in this matter, as well as Judge Kell for accepting this arrangement, and looks forward to being part of the community again as he continues to battle his grave illnesses for which he currently suffers.”