Former Attorney Charged with Fraud

INDIANAPOLIS—Brian L. Nehrig, 43, Indianapolis, Indiana, has been charged with mail fraud, announced Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney, Southern District of Indiana, The charges are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The charging document alleges that Nehrig was employed as a lawyer with a law firm who contracted with CitiMortgage to do foreclosure work. Nehrig’s duties were to attend sheriff’s sales and place minimum price bids according to CitiMortgage’s authorization for its properties in foreclosure. If all worked properly, third-party bidders could bid for the properties and, if sold for more than the minimum price, Nehrig would send CitiMortgage the funds from the sale. In this case, Nehrig placed an inflated minimum bidding price for many of the properties at the sheriff’s sale. He then completed sales of the properties with third parties with whom he was associated without CitiMortgage’s knowledge and permission. Nehrig hid the conduct from CitiMortgage by sending CitiMortgage a check for its minimum price plus $1, making CitiMortgage believe its property had sold at the sheriff’s sale in an arm’s length transaction. The charging document alleges that the difference between the funds sent to CitiMortgage and the actual funds received by the deals was $106,122.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle L. Helart, who is prosecuting the case for the government, NEHRIG faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An initial hearing will be scheduled before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. Nehrig is no longer an attorney.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.