HUNTINGTON – An attorney who formerly practiced law in Mason County has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for receiving more than $200,000 in a fraudulent billing scheme.

According to the a press release from the office of R. Booth Goodwin, II, United States Attorney, Southern District of West Virginia, Jeremy T. Vickers, 36, of Summerville, formerly of Point Pleasant, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers for wire fraud.

Vickers previously pleaded guilty in October. According to the press release, Vickers admitted he had submitted false and fraudulent payment vouchers for reimbursement for court-appointed defense work - this amount came to $221,740.43 which Vickers was ordered to pay back as restitution. A representative with Goodwin’s office said Vickers was to be housed at FCI Morgantown and he was detained immediately after his hearing due to allegedly testing positive for methamphetamine while out on bond.

The release goes on to say since 2004, Vickers practiced law in Point Pleasant and among other types of cases, he represented indigent clients in state criminal matters pending in Mason, Jackson and Roane Counties. At the conclusion of each case, Vickers routinely submitted a payment voucher form to the respective Circuit Court judge for approval. The Circuit Court judge reviewed the payment voucher and signed a court order authorizing payment. Vickers then submitted the court order to the West Virginia Public Defender Services (WVPDS) for payment. Typically, the WVPDS took several months or more to reimburse Vickers.

The release then says Vickers entered into a cash-advance agreement with Huntington-based Attorney Finance Corporation (AFC) to expedite his reimbursement payments. In exchange for prompt payments less a small percentage, Vickers assigned his right to full payment from WVPDS to AFC. The release says, in essence, once Vickers received the court order approving his payment voucher for a particular case, he would fax a copy of the order to both WVPDS and AFC. The Attorney Finance Corporation would then wire Vickers the reimbursement less a percentage that same day or the next day. When WVPDS eventually processed the same payment voucher, WVPDS would pay AFC directly the full amount.

Beginning in the fall of 2008 through at least July 2010, Goodwin’s office says Vickers began falsely inflating the hours he worked on indigent criminal cases. Vickers reportedly admitted for at least 173 days, he billed more than 24 hours of legal work. He was paid by AFC for those days. When WVPDS processed the bills months later, the discrepancy came to light. WV PDS confronted Vickers regarding the excessive billing and froze any further payments.

The release then says Vickers further admitted he continued to obtain approved payment vouchers from the Circuit Court, which he subsequently faxed to AFC for payment. Vickers also reportedly admitted he avoided detection of the scheme by purposely failing to send the payment vouchers to WV PDS. As a result, AFC was not reimbursed for their advance payments to the defendant.

The charges against Vickers arose out of an investigation by the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations into false and fraudulent billings submitted by attorneys for services performed in appointed criminal matters. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas C. Ryan handled the prosecution.

The State Supreme Court ordered Vickers’ disbarment in October of last year.