Lawyer Sentenced For Stealing $1M From Dead East Bay Friend
OAKLAND (CBS / AP) -- A New York attorney will spend time in federal prison for a scheme in which he transferred more than $1 million from a dead Bay Area friend's bank accounts to his own.
As part of a plea agreement, Igor Purlantov was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday in federal court in Oakland to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. The tax evasion conviction comes because Purlantov failed to pay tax on the money.
The 35-year-old Purlantov has agreed to reimburse the beneficiaries of his deceased friend in the amount of $1.1 million. He will also pay back taxes to the IRS in the amount of $293,048. The deceased friend, who has not been named, was a resident of Contra Costa County.
Prosecutors say the scheme took place from October 2004 to February 2005.
Purlantov will begin his sentence in late January.
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