Kelli Hogue Mauro gave legal advice free of charge. Unfortunately, she wound up needing some legal advice of her own. Last September 20, Mauro, former executive director of the Birmingham (Ala.) Volunteer Lawyers Program, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to five years of probation and five years of […]
Legal Services Accountability Project
NLPC makes the case for an end to taxpayer funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). We also make the case for the provision of legal aid to the poor through private voluntary efforts. NLPC is regarded as the nation’s leading LSC critic. NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm, former Counsel to the LSC board, is considered the leading expert on LSC outside LSC itself. NLPC exposes and publicizes instances of abuse and lawbreaking by LSC officials and grantees on a regular basis.
Ombudsman for West Virginia Legal Services Affiliate Sentenced
Janel Phillips did a lot of job-related traveling. At least that’s what her time sheets said. The reality was different. As a result, she’ll have to serve some prison time. On July 2, Phillips, an ombudsman for Legal Aid of West Virginia, a Legal Services Corp.-affiliated nonprofit group, received a 10-month sentence in U.S. District […]
Former Employees of Samoa LSC Affiliate Sentenced for Embezzlement
On the surface, Julie and Andrea Matau were rescuing females from abusive relationships. Beneath the surface, however, they were abusing taxpayer trust. On March 28, the mother and daughter were sentenced in Oakland, Calif. federal court for their roles in the theft of nearly $160,000 in grant money from the Samoa-based Legal Services Corporation (LSC) […]
What the Legal Services Corporation Doesn’t Want Congress to Know
NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm has submitted this written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, which is holding a hearing today on funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC): Members of the House Committee on Appropriations are certainly used to hearing from representatives of federally-funded programs about the good […]
Western Pennsylvania Legal Services Secretary Sentenced
At least Cheri Logue paid back what she stole. Otherwise, things might be looking worse. On March 1, Logue, former secretary-bookkeeper for Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services Inc. (SPLS), was sentenced in Pittsburgh federal court to 22 months in prison for embezzling more than $188,000 from the Legal Services Corp.-funded organization. She had been fired from […]
Boehm Takes Aim at Legal Services Corporation in National Law Journal Interview
From today’s National Law Journal by Tony Mauro: Kenneth Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center in Falls Church, Va., was once a senior official of the Legal Services Corp., serving as counsel to its board of directors from 1991 to 1994. Since then, Boehm has been one of the LSC’s most persistent […]
House Defeats Amendment to Eliminate Legal Services Corporation
The House of Representatives on Wednesday defeated an amendment to the Continuing Resolution that would have eliminated the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), the amendment should not have been necessary. Appropriations Committee Hall Rogers (R-KY) protected LSC by inserting only a modest cut of $70 million in the Continuing Resolution. […]
Hal Rogers Again Spares Legal Services Corporation; Controversial Program Must Be Completely Defunded
In response to criticism that his first round of cuts did not go far enough, House Appropriations Committee Hal Rogers (R-KY) has now produced a continuing resolution with $100 billion in cuts. Amazingly, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) again survived relatively intact. Instead of a modest $75 million cut, Rogers has now increased the cut […]
Hal Rogers Spares LSC; Is GOP Serious About Spending Cuts?
In the budget cuts announced today by House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is slated for a token $75 million reduction. This is a genuine outrage. LSC should have been zeroed out completely. In a statement today titled “CR Spending Cuts Go Deep,” Rogers says, “Make no mistake, these cuts are […]
Ex-Maryland Legal Aid Group CFO, Businessman Sentenced for $1 Million-Plus Fraud
One way to view Benjamin Louis King’s situation is that it could be worse. That’s because his total theft may have been good deal higher than the amount for which he was prosecuted. King, for three decades the chief of finance for the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, along with an accomplice, Wendell Jackson, was sentenced […]