Avid Sailor Sent To Prison For $2.8 Million Fraud
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A former Detroit-area lawyer has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for illegally obtaining nearly $2.8 million that belonged to his firm or clients.
Ken Flaska pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering in April 2014.
According to court records, Flaska executed a scheme over several years to defraud his clients and the law firm at which he was employed. Flaska used false and fraudulent pretenses and representations to obtain funds payable to his clients, which he then diverted for his own personal use.
The FBI says the money fueled Flaska's extravagant lifestyle, including a 31-foot sailboat used in last year's Port Huron to Mackinac Island race.
Flaska, a longtime sailor, told Grosse Pointe Magazine in 2010 that he's sailed in dozen of races in the Great Lakes and international waters.
"Attorneys are paid to serve their clients, not to enrich themselves," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a statement. "The defendant in this case went beyond committing criminal conduct by breaching professional duties to clients and colleagues."
The government has seized more than $900,000 from Flaska, including $352,000 from the sale of his Grosse Pointe Park home.
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