Lawyer Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $3M

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A bond claim attorney has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $3 million from his employer's surety accounts.

Forty-one-year-old Saleh Stevens of Owings Mills entered the plea Monday in federal court in Baltimore. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison at sentencing on Nov. 12.

According to his plea agreement, Stevens was a bond claim attorney for an insurance company in Towson. He was responsible for claims related to surety bonds, generally for construction projects.

Prosecutors say Stevens told outside CPA firms to issue checks from his employer's accounts to accounts controlled by Stevens, his friends, or relatives.

Authorities say Stevens used the money to buy luxury automobiles, including a Maserati and a Mercedes; to fund a NASCAR team, and to pay college tuition for his daughter.

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