Posted on: Wednesday, September 4, 2002

Attorney guilty of mail fraud

Advertiser Staff

Former Honolulu attorney John Chanin pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to one count of mail fraud.

Chanin was accused of defrauding a client out of $20,000 in proceeds from a settlement. He faces a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Dec. 16 by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said Chanin received $20,000 as an out-of-court settlement on behalf of his client on Aug. 28, 1997. Chanin said he deposited it in a trust fund for his client, but he actually placed it into his business account.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Osborne Jr. prosecuted the case.