Lawyer Gets 8 Years in Prison for Stealing From His Clients

An Orange lawyer convicted of stealing from his clients to pay his gambling debts was sentenced Friday to eight years in state prison and ordered to repay more than $300,000 to his victims.

After asking unsuccessfully to delay sentencing for two weeks so he could care for his ailing wife, who was also convicted in the thefts, attorney Leonard Basinger, 56, was taken into custody in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

While Basinger was ordered to pay restitution to eight clients, it was unclear Friday exactly how much they would actually receive. Before his sentencing, Basinger told Judge William Evans that he had no assets.

Prosecutors said if that is the case, some of the victims can apply to the California State Bar’s restitution fund for payment of up to $50,000 each. They may also pursue payment in civil court if Basinger gets assets in the future.

Basinger pleaded guilty in March to 15 counts of felony grand theft, including charges that he cashed Social Security checks made out to a dead person and wiped out a boy’s college fund. He admitted to the crimes after his wife, Valynda, agreed to testify against him at trial.

Valynda Basinger, 52, a receptionist in her husband’s law office, has a heart condition, her husband said. She faces up to five years in prison. She told prosecutors she helped in the crimes by transferring funds between accounts and by misleading clients who called to ask about their cases or accounts. She is to be sentenced in October.

Basinger resigned his State Bar membership immediately after he was charged with the crimes last year. It was the second time he was convicted of bilking clients. In the 1980s, Basinger served eight months in jail for stealing more than $250,000 from his law partner and clients.

He later reapplied for his license and won it back after convincing the State Bar of California that he had reformed.

Prosecutors had asked that Basinger be sentenced to nine years in prison but said they were satisfied with Friday’s sentencing.

“I think the sentence was fair given the nature of the losses,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Ken Chinn said.