Attorney who stole from clients to pay for African safaris, big game hunting trips, nudist resort vacations gets prison time

An attorney who stole insurance checks from her clients on African safaris, big-game hunting trips, expensive cigars and vacations at a nudist resort was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $4.5 million in restitution.

Laura E. Deveny, 57, was sentenced in federal court in Portland on Jan. 9 after pleading guilty to money laundering, identity theft, tax and fraud charges in June.

Prosecutors said the Oregon attorney illegally cashed insurance proceeds from more than 135 clients between 2011 and 2019.

According to court documents and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Oregon, "Deveny used manipulation and deceit to systematically defraud at least 135 clients out of more than $3.8 million in insurance proceeds she held in trust on their behalf. To accomplish her scheme, Deveny stole her clients' identities, forged insurance checks made payable to them, deposited client funds into her personal bank accounts, and continually lulled clients into a false sense of hope that they would receive compensation for their injuries. Many of Deveny's victims were particularly vulnerable to her criminal behavior after sustaining serious brain and bodily injuries and never received the insurance payouts they were owed."

The federal prosecutors office said the attorney used those ill-gotten gains to financing a "lavish lifestyle."

"Deveny used the proceeds of her scheme to pay more than $150,000 on foreign and domestic airline tickets, more than $173,000 on African safari and big game hunting trips, $35,000 on taxidermy expenses, $125,000 on home renovations, $195,000 in mortgage payments, more than $220,000 in cigars and related expenses, $58,000 on pet boarding and veterinary costs, $41,000 on recreational vehicle expenses, $50,000 for a Cadillac luxury vehicle, and $60,000 on stays at a luxury nudist resort in Palm Springs, California," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.