Public defender: Accused SC attorney is broke

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The public defender representing a Lexington attorney charged with extorting more than $1 million from clients says the attorney is broke.

WIS-TV reported (bit.ly/S8duXa) that federal public defender John Hare says attorney Richard Breibart has no monthly income and can’t raise the $10,000 needed to get out of jail. In a motion filed Friday, Hare says Breibart has a negative net worth of $24,000.

Breibart is accused in a federal indictment of getting money from clients by threatening them with criminal charges or civil penalties that did not exist.

He was charged Wednesday with five counts of extortion, four counts of mail fraud and a count of wire fraud. The indictment lists three people who allegedly cleaned out bank accounts, investments and retirement savings to give to Breibart

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Information from: WIS-TV, http://www.wistv.com