A suspended Las Vegas attorney accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients pleaded guilty Monday in the high-profile federal investigation into the scheme to take over valley homeowners associations. Barry Levinson, 47, who has more Nevada bar complaints against him than any other lawyer, also pleaded guilty to trying to evade $28,211 taxes from the Internal Revenue Service and embezzling more than $243,000 from his clients.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan set a May 5 sentencing. Levinson’s plea was part of an agreement Levinson and his lawyer Brent Bryson struck with federal and Clark County prosecutors to resolve all of his criminal charges. He also is expected to plead guilty in District Court to the theft of more than $1 million from his clients. As part of his federal plea deal, Levinson agreed to disbarment and will pay as much as $271,646 in restitution to the IRS and his clients.

Charles La Bella, a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Washington-based Fraud Section, told Mahan he would argue at sentencing for nothing less than two years in prison for Levinson. Any prison time for the state theft charges will run concurrently to the federal time, according to Levinson’s agreement with prosecutors.  Read more: http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/lawyer-accused-stealing-clients-pleads-guilty-hoa-scheme