Law Practice
Jun. 22, 2002
Fraud Charges Provoke Murder Suspicions
LOS ANGELES - A former Beverly Hills attorney accused of embezzling nearly $400,000 in life insurance proceeds from the sons of a dead Los Angeles police officer is also being investigated in connection with the young men's subsequent killings, according to authorities.
Angela Wallace, whose preliminary hearing on the embezzlement charges began Wednesday, may become a suspect in the brothers' killings, police said.
"The investigation is still open, and we're still pursuing some leads," Lt. Alex Perez said. "Ms. Wallace certainly fits into the investigation but, obviously, we're not at a point where we can arraign her or charge her with this."
Wallace's attorney, Milton Grimes, said he doubts she ever will be charged with the murders.
"She has not been charged, and I don't believe she ever will be, based on the material that we have," Grimes said.
With regard to the embezzlement case, Grimes said he is optimistic that Wallace will be exonerated if she stands trial.
Meanwhile, Wallace and co-defendant Timothy Mack soon may learn whether they must stand trial on charges they stole $380,000 from Howard Byrdsong, 20, and Jontrae Byrdsong, 18.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges. People v. Wallace, BA227516 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 15, 2002) The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ron Goudy.
The Byrdsongs were to receive the money from the estate of their mother, Shiree Arrant, after she died in 2000. Instead, prosecutors claim, Wallace kept the money for herself and lied to the Byrdsongs about receiving it.
A few months after the brothers complained to authorities, they were shot to death inside the Inglewood home where they lived with family friends.
Police have said the embezzlement case against Wallace, who once represented rappers Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre, led them to believe she may be connected to the brothers' slayings.
According to State Bar records, Wallace, 41, was on a two-year suspension and barred from practicing law when, investigators say, she represented herself to the Byrdsong brothers as an attorney and agreed to act as their trustee.
Prosecutors say that Wallace, in August 2000, contacted the insurance company handling Arrant's policy and instructed them to send the money, in a lump sum, to Howard Byrdsong, in care of herself. Then, prosecutors allege, Wallace opened a City National Bank account on Aug. 21, 2000, under the name of "All American Law Firm FBO Howard Byrdsong," with a forged power of attorney.
From that account, prosecutors allege, Wallace wrote unauthorized checks to herself, her law firm and other individuals between August and December 2000. In March 2001, they say, she told the woman who was sheltering the Byrdsongs that she had not received the insurance check yet.
Wallace also visited the Byrdsongs with Mack, 46, and tried to convince them to accept a $125,000 settlement, according to court documents. In addition, she told them she had invested the money, the documents state.
The Byrdsongs contacted the district attorney's office, which began an investigation in the spring of 2001. Several months later, the Byrdsong brothers were gunned down in the Inglewood home where they had been living since their mother's death, and the woman with whom they were staying was pistol-whipped, according to investigators.
The killer, according to police, was dressed as a postal worker.
Mack and Wallace were arrested in February in connection with the embezzlement allegations. Wallace is charged with three counts of forgery and one count each of conspiracy to commit grand theft, grand theft by embezzlement and perjury while applying for a driver's license in the name of Angela Byrd. Mack is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit grand theft, grand theft by embezzlement and perjury stemming from filing a false driver's license application.
Mack remains in jail instead of $750,000 bail. Wallace is free on $150,000 bail.
Wallace, according to State Bar records, commingled funds, allowed the misappropriation of client funds and committed acts of moral turpitude, in other cases.
She was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating from USC Law School.
The preliminary hearing for Wallace and Mack resumes today in the downtown courtroom of Judge Frederick N. Wapner.
Anne La Jeunesse
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