Las Vegas lawyer gets probation for stealing from clients
A suspended Las Vegas lawyer prosecutors said acted as an accessory to murder and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients was given probation Thursday.
After sentencing William Gamage, 53, to five years probation, District Judge Mary Kay Holthus ordered him to serve the first 60 days of his probation in the Clark County Detention Center.
Gamage pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy and theft charges.
In May, Gamage was suspended after the State Bar of Nevada said he “misappropriated or mishandled thousands of dollars of client or third-party funds entrusted to him,” records show.
Prosecutors said Gamage stole nearly $180,000 from three clients in personal injury cases between November 2015 and February 2017, including one client who lost $142,000.
Gamage also was charged with harboring, concealing or aiding a felony offender in connection with the April 2018 death of 30-year-old Bailey Kay Beck, according to his arrest report. Charges against him in that case are expected to be dismissed.
During his sentencing on Thursday, Gamage admitted that he used methamphetamines but said he was not lining his pockets with the stolen money.
“I wasn’t a very good business person,” he said to the judge, “but I was a good lawyer.”
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