Stark County attorney who stole nearly $900K from his clients finds out his punishment

CANTON ‒ One of the victims of a former lawyer's theft said the experience cost him over $10,000 in losses on investments and extra attorney fees.

A special prosecutor read the victim impact statement from Leonard Cooper in Stark County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday as Judge Natalie R. Haupt sentenced former attorney William R. Sparks.

Sparks must serve four to six years in prison on six theft charges for stealing $882,109 from seven clients.

More: Former Stark County attorney admits to stealing $882,109 from clients

All the charges against the 71-year-old Jackson Township man involve real estate transactions handled by his title company, American Realty Title Assurance Co. of Stark County Inc. A Stark County Bar Association complaint that formed the basis for the criminal case said Sparks withdrew money from an escrow account for his own use. Funds in such accounts are supposed to be paid out to parties in a real estate transaction.

Although much of the money has been repaid, Sparks still owes $64,228 to Cooper, $20,160 to another client and $254,662 to a state fund that reimburses clients for losses suffered due to dishonest conduct of licensed Ohio lawyers. Sparks personally repaid $597,721. Two clients each received $100,000 from the state fund.

William Sparks' medical woes cited in theft case

Sparks, given the chance to speak on his own behalf at his sentencing hearing, said a stroke he suffered in 2015 impaired his cognitive abilities.

"That seemed to affect him rather dramatically," defense attorney Jeffrey Jakmides said. "It affected his work, caused him to fall behind in virtually every financial aspect of his life and practice."

Sparks said he is the sole caretaker for his wife, who is recovering from a hip replacement.

Jakmides said Sparks' wife got a severe case of COVID in February 2023, followed by an infection, a broken femur and the hip replacement.

"She's 71 years old," Jakmides said. "Bill's 71 years old. She relies totally on Bill Sparks to take care of her."

Jakmides said Sparks must transport his wife to therapy and to schools where she works as a speech therapist. He has to assist with her personal care and is responsible for meal preparation.

"I have a daughter who's pregnant with twins," Sparks said. "When it rains, it pours."

"Your honor, it's a sad story about William Sparks, who has misled numerous people," Cooper wrote in his letter to the judge. He said he became involved with the defendant in 2019, after hearing from others that the Sparkses were upstanding citizens.

Former client: 'He caused his own problems'

"All were surprised to hear what happened," Cooper wrote. "This has caused me numerous hours of time researching what to do, let alone the heartache, suffering and mental anguish."

Cooper wrote that he had to scramble to find the money, which Sparks should have forwarded, to complete the real estate exchange to which he had agreed, or risk facing a lawsuit for failing to follow through on the contract.

"After going through this debacle, I find it hard to trust attorneys. I feel bad for Mr. Sparks, but he caused his own problems and it affected others. According to the six counts he pled guilty to, he should serve a lot of time and/or pay back a lot of money," Cooper wrote.

Special Prosecutor Micah Ault, an assistant Ohio attorney general, recommended Haupt send Sparks to prison based on his lack of remorse, the amount of the theft and the severity of the crimes: three counts of theft from a person in a protected class, two counts of aggravated theft and a single count of grand theft.

He acknowledged that Sparks has repaid a lot of the money.

"A lot of that was from taking money from other victims to pay back other people that he had stolen from," Ault said. He said he does not believe Sparks will be able to repay what he still owes.

"I believe there has been a lack of remorse," Ault said. "There hasn't been an apology. When he spoke, it was mostly about him and his wife, and not about the victims in this case."

Jackmides said the December 2023 indictment of his client pulled the rug out of the efforts Sparks and his wife were making to get into financial position to make payments.

Character references submitted

He said letters had been submitted on Sparks' behalf by numerous attorneys, County Commissioner Janet Weir Creighton, former Jackson Township Police Chief Phil Paar and businessman Dan Belden.

Jakmides asked Haupt to allow Sparks to spend any period of incarceration in the county jail where he could maintain contact with his wife and receive the five medicines he takes.

"I would respectfully submit that there is no possibility Mr. Sparks will ever be in trouble with the law again," Jakmides said. "Bill Sparks is no danger to this community whatsoever. He did exactly what he was asked to do through the bar association: Liquidate everything you have. Pay as much money back as you can."

"We've tried to do this in a way that rebuilds our life, acknowledges ... what we did was totally wrong," Sparks said. "But I think we are turning the corner."

Haupt acknowledged receiving letters on Sparks' behalf from people she knows. She said she did not doubt their accuracy in their assessment of him as a skilled lawyer, contributor to the community and a good person.

"But I am not here to judge your character. I'm here to judge your actions. That's the role that I play here," Haupt said.

In addition to the prison sentence, she ordered him to make restitution to the two clients and the state fund. She granted the defense request to allow Sparks to report for incarceration on May 3. Sparks will serve two to five years on parole following his prison sentence.

More: Jackson Township attorney accused of stealing nearly $900K via real estate transactions

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County attorney who stole nearly $900K from his clients finds out his punishment