Hardwick Sentencing Set for December, With Millions Still Missing
Nathan Hardwick IV (Photo: John Disney/ALM)
Atlanta lawyer Nathan Hardwick IV’s sentencing hearing has been set for Dec. 19, after a federal jury convicted him Friday of embezzling $26 million from now-defunct residential real estate firm, Morris Hardwick Schneider, where he was the majority owner.
Prosecutor J. Russell Phillips said the government would seek roughly 15 years in prison for Hardwick, 53, who was immediately taken into custody after the verdict.
Judge Eleanor Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that Hardwick “failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is not likely to flee.”
Phillips had argued after the verdict that Hardwick was a flight risk, telling the judge: “A lot of money is still unaccounted for.”
Hardwick transferred at least $5 million from MHS to his girlfriend, Julia Olivares’ bank account, Phillips said, adding that he wired her the money in $500,000 increments, and it was subsequently withdrawn in cashier's checks.
At the verdict hearing, Olivares, 31, was wearing an 8.35 carat diamond ring that Hardwick bought for $285,000 for a now ex-fiancee, according to government evidence from the trial.
According to trial testimony, Hardwick often gambled at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, where Olivares has a beauty salon, Blown, according to her Facebook page.
The government has documented that about $19.6 million of the $26 million Hardwick was convicted of stealing came from MHS’s escrow accounts, but a Fidelity National Finance executive, Erika Meinhardt, testified during the trial that Fidelity spent $29.5 million to plug the escrow accounts.
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Jurors Deliberate Hardwick’s Fate in Embezzlement Trial
Hardwick Takes Stand to Defend Against Embezzlement Charges
Hotly-Contested Expert in Embezzlement Trial Says Firm Still Owes Hardwick Money
Alleged Co-Conspirator a No-Show as Hardwick Prosecution Rests
Hardwick Spent Law Firm’s Millions on Jets, Gambling, Girlfriends, Jurors Hear
