ORANGE COUNTY: A Chapel Hill lawyer suspected of stealing more than $1 million from clients returned to Orange County early Monday and made his first court appearance on charges of embezzlement.
Wearing a red jail uniform and glasses with his hair neatly trimmed, John Gregory McCormick politely and appropriately answered the presiding judge's questions, saying he had retained his own attorneys.
Bond remained at $803,186 – the amount authorities have charged him with embezzling. They believe however, he might have stolen more than $1 million.
McCormick, 59, was the target of an international search that included checks of airline passenger lists, credit card records and other databases. He reportedly was seen in Central or South America at one point.
Three weeks ago, he was arrested in Phoenix, Ariz., more than a year after he disappeared. Authorities found him on a park bench in a public park, his appearance disheveled.
Last Tuesday, McCormick was indicted on five additional counts of embezzlement. He previously had faced a single state embezzlement charge. Each count in the indictment handed up by the grand jury refers to a theft of more than $100,000.
McCormick went missing on July 13, 2006, when his car was found abandoned at an Orange County entrance to Duke Forest. At about the same time, authorities began looking into allegations that money was missing from the accounts of McCormick's clients.
Some who know and worked with McCormick say they cannot understand what happened to cause him to go missing.
"I don't know if it was a mid-life crisis," said Durham attorney John Bourlon, who knew McCormick as a colleague and friend for 28 years. "Some have suspected that possibly it was a medical issue."
"If he is, in fact, guilty of this, then I think he should be punished accordingly," Bourlon added.
The North Carolina State Bar disbarred McCormick in March, ruling that he had violated ethics rules. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools terminated its contract with him last year after he had represented the school district for 20 years.
The State Bar has paid out almost $20,000 to some of McCormick's clients, using its Client Security Fund.
"The rest of us will bear that burden for a long time," Bourlon said. "Not just financial, but as far as the profession is concerned. Just like the taint that Mike Nifong has created for the Bar."
From Previous Reports
An ex-Chapel Hill lawyer and Target Twenty Fugitive suspected of stealing more than $1 million from clients was indicted last week on five counts of embezzlement.
John Gregory McCormick, 59, was arrested more than three weeks ago in Phoenix, Ariz. NC WANTED profiled McCormick on its television show and website.
McCormick had been the target of an international search that lasted for more than a year. Authorities checked airline passenger lists, credit card records and other databases for a trace of the missing attorney, who reportedly had been seen in Central or South America at one point.
McCormick disappeared on July 13, 2006, when his car was found abandoned at an Orange County entrance to Duke Forest. At about the same time, authorities began looking into allegations that money was missing from the accounts of McCormick's clients.
Federal authorities had charged McCormick with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He also was charged with embezzling more than $803,000 in North Carolina and is suspected to have stolen more than $1 million.
McCormick previously faced a single embezzlement charge. Each of the indictments handed down by the grand jury refers to the theft of more than $100,000.
Based on the charges, Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan on Thursday set a cash bond of $803,186 for McCormick, meaning the amount would need to be paid in full to be released from jail.
The North Carolina State Bar disbarred McCormick in March, ruling that he had violated ethics rules. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools terminated its contract with him last year, after he had represented the school district for 20 years.
NC WANTED airs Saturday nights after WRAL's 10 O'Clock News on FOX50. Since the show launched in April, five fugitives from NC WANTED's Target Twenty list have been captured.
From Previous Reports
ORANGE COUNTY: A former Chapel Hill lawyer, suspected of embezzling from clients, should return to North Carolina this week.
John Gregory McCormick, 59, was taken into custody last month in Arizona.
The arrest ended a 13-month international search that included checks of airline passenger lists.
Federal authorities had charged McCormick with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He also faces a charge of embezzling more than $802,000 in North Carolina.
McCormick has been held without bond in Arizona, pending extradition to North Carolina.
From Previous Reports
More charges may be coming for NC Wanted’s Target Twenty fugitive John Gregory McCormick.
McCormick's capture went down in a park area in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sources at Phoenix PD tell NC Wanted that just after midnight in the early morning hours of Friday, August 31, 2007, a Phoenix police officer making routine rounds, approached three individuals who were hanging out in the parking lot of a park after hours. When the officer asked one of the individuals what his name was, the individual gave his real name. When the officer asked the man for identification, the individual handed him a North Carolina driver’s license. The officer took the driver’s license, ran a background check and subsequently arrested John Gregory McCormick.
According to Phoenix PD, McCormick was taken into custody at 12:10AM (Arizona time) on August 31, 2007. He was picked up in the area of North 20th Street and East Thomas Road. He’s being held in the Maricopa County Jail.
McCormick is currently being held in custody in Arizona without bond until he is returned to North Carolina.
Ex-Chapel Hill lawyer, John Gregory McCormick, 59, had been missing for more than 13 months and has been under a state investigation in connection with money missing from clients' accounts.
Federal authorities charged McCormick with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He also faces a charge of embezzling more than $802,000 in North Carolina and is suspected to have stolen more than $1 million from clients.
This is the 5th capture on NC WANTED's Target Twenty list. The McCormick case had just been profiled on NC WANTED two weeks prior to his capture. The show airs each Saturday night after WRAL's 10 O'Clock News on FOX50.
For more information on the background of John McCormick's story, see below and click on links, stories, videos and more in the gray box next to this article.
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From Previous NC WANTED Target Twenty Page
So you think you know your lawyer? Chapel Hill authorities say ex -lawyer John McCormick defrauded and betrayed friends, family, business partners and even the poor. He is charged with running away to whereabouts unknown with more than $1 million in other people's money and abandoning his wife and three children.
If you have information about John G. McCormick, call the NC WANTED Hotline toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683).
The State Bar has frozen his law firm’s trust accounts. The State Bar has requested that you contact its counsel, Root Edmonson, directly to retrieve your file(s) or if you have any questions pertaining to a file. He can be reached at (919) 828-4620.
If you believe that you lost money as the result of dishonest conduct by John G, McCormick, you may wish to file a claim with the Client Security Fund of the N.C. State Bar. Before pursuing a claim with the Fund, you will be required to exhaust all other remedies available to recover the lost money. The Client Security Fund is not obligated to pay any claims and has discretion to determine the amount and manner of any payments made. If you wish to obtain a claim form or to discuss a claim, you may download it from this site or you may contact the N.C. State Bar, P.O. Box 25908, Raleigh, NC27611, (919) 828-4620. Be sure to download the Client Security Fund Claim Form. Once the form opens you can print it or save a copy on your computer.
