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An Elkins Park lawyer who took $95,000 of an 85-year-old woman's money on a gambling spree and was subsequently sentenced to nearly four years behind bars has lost his law license.

John Kelvin Conner was disbarred by order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on June 20. The order comes less than a month after he was sentenced in federal court to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Conner was also ordered to forfeit $14,923 and pay an additional $14,923 in restitution.

Conner was convicted by a jury of 19 counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.

The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court wrote in its April report and recommendations that there were aggravating factors in Conner's case favoring disbarment, including a history of financial misconduct.

“Respondent's unauthorized use of his client's funds, prior discipline for mishandling client funds and lack of remorse signify that severe discipline must be imposed,” the board said.

Arnold Joseph, who represented Conner in his criminal case, declined to comment on Conner's disbarment.

Following Conner's sentencing last month, U.S. Attorney William McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania called Conner's conduct “egregious.”

“Stealing an elderly woman's life-savings, gambling it away at casinos, and then lying about it to federal agents—all as an officer of the court, an attorney who took an oath to act in the best interest of his clients and with a high moral standard,” McSwain said. “This is the very definition of someone with power preying upon the most vulnerable. I am grateful that the judge held him accountable for his despicable actions.”

According to prosecutors, Conner was the designated power of attorney for the unnamed victim.

He used that position to siphon money from the elderly woman, who was house-bound and required the assistance of multiple caregivers, prosecutors said. The woman's sole income was a monthly pension.

From August 2016 until April 2017, Conner used an ATM card connected to the victim's bank account to make 176 unauthorized withdrawals at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia as well as the Borgata and Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to the indictment.

During the eight-month period, Conner neglected to pay the victim's bills, prosecutors alleged, which led to the temporary loss of heat, hot water, electricity and telephone service at her home. Additionally, many of the checks given to caregivers bounced because of insufficient funds in the elderly woman's bank account.

When his gambling spree was over, Conner had left roughly $15 in his client's bank account.

“When questioned by FBI agents about the ATM withdrawals, the defendant falsely told the agents a ridiculous story that the victim had authorized him to use her money to gamble at casinos,” prosecutors said in a May statement.

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