An attorney and former Alabama state senator pleaded guilty to two counts of theft for stealing money from clients, state Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office announced Tuesday.
Zeb Little was convicted in Franklin County Circuit Court on September 20 of two counts of felony theft of property and admitted to removing clients’ money from his trust account, according to a press release.
One of Little’s clients told Cullman County Sheriff that money from her father’s estate, which had been placed into a trust, was stolen. A Cullman County grand jury on February 11 indicted Little on three counts of theft of property related to that victim.
On Sept. 19 Little was charged with an additional count of theft of property related to client trust funds stolen from more victims. Investigators learned that Little had been settling cases for clients in personal injury lawsuits, telling those clients that he’d pay their medical bills out of the settlement money, but instead transfer that money to himself.
The Cullman Democrat served as state Senate Majority Leader from 2002 to 2010.
During a hearing on Friday Little agreed to pay $74,043.44 in restitution. A sentencing date hadn’t been set as of Tuesday.
“The victims in this case trusted Little to represent them,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in the press release. “These victims needed help during a difficult time and went to Little searching for justice. Instead, they were victimized again by the greed of an individual who used his position of trust to enrich himself. This type of conduct erodes at the trust that the people of Alabama should be able to place in members of the Alabama bar. It will not be tolerated.”
