| Eric Marshall |
SOUTH BEND — Eric Marshall, the local attorney who appeared to have skipped town amid fraud allegations and charges last year, is back in South Bend and made his first court appearance Monday.
Marshall, 61, closed his office without notice and stopped communicating with clients at the beginning of last year. Not long after, two civil lawsuits were filed against Marshall by former clients accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme and stealing their investments.
In December, he was charged in federal court with five counts of mail fraud in what the U.S. Attorney called an “elder abuse scam.” In January, Marshall was arrested in Clearwater, Fla. After being extradited, Marshall was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail at the end of last week.
Monday, Marshall was arraigned on his federal charges before Magistrate Michael Gotsch. Marshall pleaded not guilty on all counts. Judge Gotsch denied bond and ordered Marshall to remain in pre-trial detention. A jury trial has been scheduled for April 29.
Between two civil suits, Marshall has been ordered to pay roughly $2.5 million. His wife, Kathleen Marshall, is named in one of the suits, but recently had the default judgement against her vacated. She said she had no knowledge of her husband’s alleged crimes and she didn’t know she was being sued.
This doesn’t completely remove her from the lawsuit, but she will now be able to raise a defense in court against the allegations. The default judgement against Eric Marshall still stands.
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Attorney charged with stealing clients' investments back in South Bend for court appearance
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