Tulsa Lawyer Faces Multiple Embezzlement Charges

A Tulsa lawyer is facing embezzlement charges after he allegedly took more than $200,000 from five different clients, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced Tuesday in a news release.

Robert John Nichols, 67, is believed to have used funds intended to go to trust accounts for each victim for unintended purposes, Pruitt wrote.

Nichols represented the victims in cases involving condemnation of property, the news release states. 

He is also accused of forging the signature and depositing a check made out to one of his clients, according to Pruitt. 

“It’s disheartening to hear of allegations against an attorney who clients entrust,” Pruitt said. “My office has a responsibility to uphold the law, and when it is being broken, we will prosecute and make sure bad actors are not getting away with fraudulent activity.” 

Nichols is charged with five felony counts of embezzlement and one count of delivery of a forged instrument. 

If convicted, Nichols could face up to 57 years in prison and fines of $50,000 plus restitution to the victims, for all six counts combined, according to Pruitt.