A federal court jury found Fayetteville attorney K. Vaughn Knight guilty on all counts against him early Monday afternoon.
Knight, who served as Fayetteville developer Brandon Barber’s attorney from 2008 to 2010, was charged with conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud, bankruptcy fraud, false statements and five counts of money laundering.
Prosecutors said that Knight knowingly helped Barber hide assets from creditors during Barber’s July 2009 personal bankruptcy, among other allegations. Knight’s defense attorneys said he was a victim of his client’s schemes.
The jury of nine women and three men began deliberating Knight’s case Friday afternoon after attorneys for Knight and the government completed their closing arguments. There were nine days of testimony and nearly 300 exhibits entered into evidence during the trial.
The government accused Knight of using his lawyer trust account to allow Barber to hide his money from creditors and transfer money from the account to other locations in an effort to conceal it.
Barber pleaded guilty in July to money laundering and conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud in one federal indictment and to bank fraud in separate indictment. Co-defendant James Van Doren pleaded guilty in August to one count of money laundering. Both men are awaiting sentencing.
A news conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. to discuss the verdict.
Read more about this story in Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.