THOUSAND OAKS : Lawyer Gets Year for Thefts From Clients
A Thousand Oaks attorney who admitted to stealing from his clients was sentenced to a year in jail and forbidden to have a checking account.
Hoyle H. Kiger, 43, pleaded guilty last month to illegally spending clients’ money won in legal settlements, writing bad checks and forging a government document.
Defense attorney William Rutman said Kiger’s civil law practice was foundering financially and that his client suffers from depression. Kiger passed the State Bar exam in 1989 and opened his own office in 1993.
Soon after, Kiger began writing numerous bad checks to clients and merchants.
Prosecutors were alerted, and their investigation revealed that he forged and cashed a number of client checks while forging court documents to convince clients he had won nonexistent judgments for them.
Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. imposed the sentence Tuesday after a brief hearing. Campbell could have sent Kiger to prison for up to three years.
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