Two local attorneys facing criminal charges

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Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry has filed charges against two Indianapolis lawyers following grand jury investigations, his office announced Friday afternoon.

David F. Rees, who has already given up his law license, is accused of stealing from a client's estate, in which $400,000 went unaccounted, according to Curry's office.

Rees drafted the will and served as executor for the estate of the late Benjamin Roberts. Eight years after Roberts' death, $400,000 turned up missing, and Rees acknowledged diverting $270,549 to his own bank account. He faces a Class C felony charge of theft.

Rees also has been charged with obstruction of justice related to a final accounting of the estate, which he filed in January 2012, indicating all the money was still there. He has agreed to enter a guilty plea to both charges with a sentence to be concurrent on the two counts. He faces a maximum penalty of eight years in in prison, $20,000 in fines and restitution of $270,549.

The Indiana Supreme Court accepted Rees' resignation from the bar in a Jan. 28 order. As a result, ongoing disciplinary proceedings were dismissed. Rees will be ineligible to practice law for five years, according to the order.

Curry also charged Steven B. Geller with five counts of tax evasion, a Class D felony. He failed to file state tax income tax returns for the years 2007 through 2011, a probable cause affidavit alleges. Geller was arrested March 7, Curry's office said.

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