Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : Attorney Arraigned on Embezzlement Charges

An attorney arrested last week on charges of embezzling $253,000 from a settlement he negotiated for a homeowners association pleaded not guilty Monday in Harbor Municipal Court.

Municipal Judge Brian R. Carter also reduced bail for James Michael Pichette, 34, of Mission Viejo, from $1 million to $400,000 cash or an $800,000 property bond.

Pichette, whose preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20, was already facing 20 felony counts of fraud and forgery when he was arrested on the new charges last Thursday.

Pichette is accused of embezzling the $253,000 out of a partial settlement of $450,000 he had negotiated for the Lakeshore Homeowners Assn. in a lawsuit against a developer.

In the previous case, which has not come to trial, the attorney is charged with defrauding 12 other clients of $100,000 in lawsuit settlements. Both the previous and current charges were filed after investigations by Costa Mesa police.

Pichette’s attorney, Gerald J. Reopelle, had argued that the $1-million bail set last week was excessive. Costa Mesa police had sought the unusually high bail because Pichette had been arrested for a crime identical to the one for which he had already posted a bond.

Reopelle said he did not know if his client, who is being held at County Jail, would be able to post the reduced bail.

“The family is checking into its resources to see if bail can be posted,” Reopelle said.