A Denver prosecutor said Friday that he would seek the maximum prison term for former Denver probate lawyer Wiley Todd Linville, who stole millions of dollars from the estates and trusts of his clients.
Linville pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one count of forgery Friday in connection with thefts, most of which took place in 2003 and 2004. Linville, who has been disbarred, will be sentenced in September.
Joe Morales, head of the Denver district attorney’s economic crime unit, said he’ll seek the maximum 40-year sentence for Linville, who spoke softly as he entered guilty pleas before Denver District Judge William Robbins.
Robbins refused Linville’s request that his $350,000 bail be reduced to $100,000 so he could make attempts to raise money to pay restitution and attend his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.
Morales said authorities are trying to determine the exact amount Linville stole but said it is somewhere between $3 million and $6 million.
Linville used the money to buy a Mercedes-Benz, make house payments, pay a pilot for his personal plane, pay off credit cards and buy gifts to relatives.
In entering the guilty pleas to the theft charges, Linville admitted he stole from 10 of the 11 estates from which authorities originally said he took money.
He did not enter a plea to stealing from the estate of one of his clients, Charla Mae Hall, a 75-year-old woman found murdered in Denver’s Belcaro neighborhood on July 21, 2004.
Hall was found shot three times in the head at her home at 3400 Tennessee Ave. Just weeks before her death, Hall had signed a last will and testament. In the documents, she named Linville as co-personal representative and co-trustee.
The grand jury indictment alleged that within seven days of Hall’s death, Linville started transferring money from her accounts. Police continue to investigate the Hall homicide.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
