FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
November 6, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF CENTRE ATTORNEY FOR
FIRST-DEGREE THEFT FROM STATE FAIR TRIAL FAX FUND
(MONTGOMERY) -Attorney General Luther Strange today announced the
conviction of a Centre attorney for first-degree theft from the State Fair Trial Tax Fund.
A jury in Cherokee County Circuit Court convicted Rodney Stallings late Tuesday
following a two-day trial. Sentencing is set for January 5, 2015.
The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence that Stallings stole $328,246 by
intentionally filing 246 false fee declarations for indigent defense cases in which he was
not entitled to receive payment. Stallings never appeared as counsel in some of the
cases, and in others he made up case numbers as well as defendants. Stallings’ criminal
acts occurred between 2006 and 2012. In 2012, he was suspended by the Alabama State
Bar Association.
In finding Stallings guilty, the jury found the existence of two aggravating
factors: that the theft involved the taking of property having great monetary value and
that it occurred over an extended period of time with a high degree of sophistication
involved. Stallings faces a potential sentence of two to 20 years for the class B felony.
Attorney General Strange said, “This crime involved a calculated and callous
theft over many years, taking hundreds of thousands of scarce dollars from a fund that
was intended to compensate attorneys who provide services to those in need.”
Attorney General Strange commended those involved in bringing this case to a
successful conclusion, noting in particular Assistant Attorneys General James Rutter
and Ternisha Miles and Paralegal Lori Arnold of his Criminal Trials Division and
Special Agents of his Investigations Division. He also thanked Ellen Eggers of the
Alabama Department of Finance’s indigent defense service and Cherokee County
Circuit Clerk Dwayne Amos.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
