Kenneth Reidenbach
A local lawyer convicted last year of embezzling nearly $100,000 from clients isn't going down without a legal fight.
Kenneth Reidenbach, 60, of Lititz, has filed a series of appeals and motions that has delayed his sentencing to Aug. 24, according to court records.
However, the state Supreme Court has ruled Reidenbach can't legally practice while he continues to appeal. In fact, the state Supreme Court last week suspended Reidenbach indefinitely from taking on any new cases or handling current ones, as of June 3, because of his criminal conviction.
He had been practicing from his East King Street office for several months after his Nov. 30 conviction in federal court on multiple counts of bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy.
Reidenbach and his former partner, Herbert "Hesh" Henderson, each face maximum penalties of 45 years in prison and a fine of $2.25 million at sentencing. Henderson pleaded guilty to similar charges and will be sentenced June 7.
Judge James Knoll Gardner will sentence both defendants in federal court in Allentown. Reidenbach was to have been sentenced May 2, but that hearing has been pushed back.
In one motion, Reidenbach — through attorney Samuel Stretton — has challenged the testimony of his former partner, who took the stand as a prosecution witness.
Reidenbach is asking for a new trial and that his conviction be lifted.
Henderson, 47, was a federal witness at Reidenbach's trial, which began Nov. 14. He testified that Reidenbach had directed him to file petitions in bankruptcy court pertaining to a married couple the attorneys allegedly advised to hide funds, despite knowing that funds specified within the documents were missing, prosecutors said.
Reidenbach also took the stand for two days, denying some allegations and saying he didn't recall other events, prosecutors said after trial.
Even though prosecutors produced documents with Reidenbach's signature, Reidenbach said he had no recollection of signing them.
Between August 2003 and January 2006, according to court documents, the two attorneys allegedly advised a married couple to hide "more than $50,000 in cash" and then allegedly "conspired to keep the cash for themselves."
The clients lived in Lancaster and owned a number of rental properties. The couple sold four of their rental properties, netting a total of $51,489 in proceeds.
The attorneys instructed the couple to transfer the proceeds of any sales to a trust account controlled by Reidenbach, according to the court documents. When the couple went to that escrow account, the money was gone.
After Henderson left the office, Reidenbach ran a similar scam with a second client, netting $39,900.
Regarding a third client, Reidenbach lied to the court about how much he received for representation. That scam netted $3,300.
The attorneys likely will be ordered to pay back the money.
