Thursday, November 8, 2018

Madison Attorney Sentenced

Madison County attorney Sharon Plunkett will serve six years in prison after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement in Madison County Circuit Court. She was indicted a year ago for embezzling from her law firm, Young, Williams, P.A. 


Circuit Judge Steve Ratcliff sentenced her to serve ten years in prison but suspended four years of the sentence.  She has been in custody at the Madison County Detention Center since September 13 when she pleaded guilty.  However, Plunkett will probably only serve 25% of the sentence under HB #585 since her crime is considered to be non-violent.  She will get credit for time served in jail so it is probable that she will be released in 14 months.  The court also sentenced her to serve a supervised probation term of five years upon release.




37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welp, wonder where all those folks trumpeting what a kick-ass attorney and businesswoman she was are saying this morning.

Anonymous said...

a piker compared to Lamar-

Anonymous said...



Sad. For goats? Throw away a life for damn goats. Someone will say 14 months is not long enough but being locked up for someone like her is an eternity. Hope she can cope

Anonymous said...

Here's what they'll say 11:26 - she was a kick-ass real estate attorney who did a great job for me on numerous occasions over many years. How she handled her business with her old firm is a separate issue. If I could, I would still use her for my real estate work.

Anonymous said...

Rail-freaking-roaded.

She got on the bad side of some very bad vindictive people and got out matched.

Anonymous said...

So as an attorney she has to be making well north of six figures, yet she threw away her career, her reputation, her freedom for a sum under $25,000.

That guy in Baton Rouge that was fired yesterday was making $350,000 and was still stealing.

Then you have Lamar and Vivie stealing millions and then bragging in the CL about taking their grandson to the All Star game and paying top dollar for everything.

David Bowie recorded a song called "Criminal World". I guess we're living it.

Anonymous said...

She is a crook and not a trustworthy attorney. I hope she loses her mind while she's locked up.

OH, BUT WAIT, she will more than likely stay at the county and is already an inside trustee....will be an outside trustee in a month or so.

Anonymous said...

She plead guilty...you have goat to be kidding

Anonymous said...

12:33 Young Williams trolls hard at work.....

Anonymous said...

I happened to be at sentencing. I heard what was said. She made $2million for that firm. Har salary was barely in the six figures. They all agreed that she was in control of that bank account. And they all agree that she could use it for certain expenses. They argued she took it too far. She pleaded guilty to taking it to far. The lawyers profiting millions are the same ones that pressed the charges against the cash cow. There were no winners. Jail will pale in comparison to losing her “bad ass” career of being able to generate 7 figures for honest and excellent work product. She had a courtroom full of support, and I wont be surprised if this turns out to be a story less about a fall from grace and more about redemption as she refocuses her energy and bright mind on helping the many other people that came through that courtroom with no support at all. The Judge even said he got 78 letters of support for her from the community and many people he knows. He said he could take 78 other defendants and combine them all and not that have that many letters from people who care. She will be serving time with those other 78 people, the vast majority of whom have become addicted to drugs, and I bet she will do all she can to show them the same kind of love and support that she had in the courtroom that day. I hope this is where the best part of her life starts and the worse part ends. Most lawyers don’t even like their job anyway.

Anonymous said...

2:28 PM

Thank you for your post.


Anonymous said...

I wonder how much of that money she used for political donations in her name? How does Chris McDaniel tie into this? You know he has too.

Anonymous said...

To clarify: "Supervised Probation" means you have to pee in a cup, unannounced, periodically, and have to get permission to travel out of the county. Next?

Anonymous said...

3:55, No - that is the definition and the intention of "supervised probation". But in MS, unless you are one of the really bad guys, it means that once a month you have to show up at a private business, selected by the Judge, and write a check for your monthly "probation fee". And if you are not going to be available because you are busy, or out of county, or out of state, you can just send in your check.

The probation law and process in MS is an absolute joke - but not a bad business to be in if you make buddies with the right judges.

Anonymous said...

2:28. . .Thank you for your post. Sharon Plunkett has always been a class act and the lawyers who profited from her endeavors at that firm and (probably) gained significant collateral business from what she brought in should not be happy with themselves.

And before anyone jumps to any conclusions. . .Yes, I too am an attorney.

Anonymous said...

12:10 PM Have you ever considered investing in timber? It is a completely risk free investment with an annual return of nearly 75%.

Anonymous said...

5:42 - yes, I have invested in many timber tracts. I have bought and sold several over the years. Invested wisely and made money. Plunkett closed several for me. Did a great job. Now, why don't you crawl back under your rock until you have something relevant to add to this conversation?

Anonymous said...

I'm having trouble understanding how making millions of dollars for your bosses somehow condones embezzlement? Or how a barely 6 figure salary is somehow unjust? Doesn't matter if you are a living embodiment of a saint, you don't steal and you don't justify your own greed by the profit of those you work for. Open your own company, ask for a raise, negotiate a better deal, but you don't steal and lie about it. Take those 78 letters and line the wall of your cell.

Anonymous said...

4:47 - Obviously you've not served a year of federal probation. A Crown Vic with black windows shows up in your driveway, perhaps when you're out back, grilling on Friday afternoon at 6:10. He steps out and has a cup in his hand. You're embarrassment is a non-issue.

If you want to ride the Amtrak down to a Saints game, you have to jump through three hoops to leave the county. And you may be denied.

Treatment is probably similar to that you get for shooting up a bank.

Anonymous said...

8:03, 2:28 here. I never even hinted that embezzlement was condoned. The usual suspects were being mean and nasty with comments about where the “badass” is now, that she threw away her career for peanuts, that they hope she loses her mind while locked up, and, of course the obligatory goat jokes. If she thought the behavior was condoned, I doubt she would have pled guilty and given up everything. I agree that she should have negotiated a better deal or started her own firm. The way she handled it was wrong and she is suffering the consequences. The point of my post was to give some context since I was there and saw what happened. I also hoped to influence a more positive dialogue. Like I said there are no winners, but this could be a good story in the end, unlike the other 78 people who will get back out with no support, go straight back to drugs, and rinse and repeat. If she can find just one of those people and help them, maybe there will be a silver lining. Too many people who comment here have a “lock them up and throw away the key - rot in hell” mentality, don’t ya think? Go back through every post here where a person was sentenced and see if you can find a single comment about hope, redemption, or anything positive. It’s not there. These commenters don’t want to stop at punishment, they want blood. And they definitely don’t give a dam about the rehabilitation process that prison is supposed to be. Who kicks a dog while they are down? Your comment that she can line her wall with the letters seemed a bit of a jab to me, but maybe you had some positive message that was intended with that. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Anonymous said...

Defense pointed out that she pled guilty to misspending money she made. Not clients money. Not money any other attorney at the firm had a hand in making. Young, Wells attorney summarized a victims statement at the sentencing hearing, saying the defendant showed no remorse and hadn't dropped a civil suit seeking disclosure of the details of disputed amount.

Defense pointed out that the victims oral summary to the court contradicted the written statement filed with the court. Young Wells written statement said Plunkett, from the beginning of the dispute, said she intended to pay back the disputed amount once the total was determined.

Young Wells got caught here taking advantage of a bad decision to make it worse. They made sure she was unable to clear up the dispute, then pushed criminal charges against her for not clearing up the dispute.

Plunkett admitted her mistakes. Young Wells hasn’t admit their role in blocking an in-house resolution.

A firm sacrifices $2 million a year in production to jail an attorney loved by her clients, and by all prior statements, loved by her partners.

Doesn’t add up.

Anonymous said...

@5:31 am. Sir, I was gonna pay for this. Not sure how’s this got into my purse? If you just let me pay now I’ll be on my way and we can overlook this shoplifting. Pretty please.

Mom? Dad? Husband? Spin it however you want. Lots of good people make criminal mistakes. Doesn’t mean they arent good, but they are still criminals who deserve to be punished. And I’d dispense with the drug users analogy. Usually white collar criminals have something personal going on like a substance use problem, gambling or a obsessive habit... like goats in this instance.

Anonymous said...

@2:57 AM - what does "federal probation have to do with this case?

"Madison County attorney Sharon Plunkett will serve six years in prison after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement in Madison County Circuit Court."


Anonymous said...

Will she be able to practice law when she gets out?

Anonymous said...

@6:47 that’s exactly what happened. She was caught like a dear in headlights when confronted about expenses that didn’t look normal for real estate practice. She didn’t fess up quick enough for the firm’s taste. But I’m not where you see that anyone is trying to pretty please just be on their way. She pleaded guilty and got a 10 year sentence with 6 to serve and another 5 years of @4:47 state probation.

@7:51 - any lawyer convicted of any crime involving honesty is never eligible to practice law again anywhere in this country.

Anonymous said...

People that are victims of a crime do not really care about rehabilitation.

They are very interested in the punishment a thug is going to get for the crime he performed. The people who are worried about rehabilitation are usually those who are related to the thug, a thug themselves, or someone who has never been a victim of crime.

Anonymous said...

Shay’s personality is gruff when dealing with her contemporaries.

Her aloofness is misunderstood for “bitchiness” and that’s what irked her co-workers.

I’ve known her for 20 plus years.

She made a mistake.

She should have clarified her stake in money she generated.

She did not.

She is paying the price.

I think when she gets out (quickly I hope) she will succeed in her next endeavor.

She’s super smart and now a little war worn....but she’ll be fine.

I’ll be glad to help her too.

Anonymous said...

I am not an attorney. I don't know any of the people or firms involved. From everything I have read here, if I needed a real estate attorney, I would certainly give her consideration.

Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

2:57, Plunkett was convicted and sentenced in STATE court, not FEDERAL court. Reckon there might be a difference in the probation process?

Anonymous said...

At 10:13, I have been a victim of a similar crime. I was far more worried about rehabilitation than I was in implementing Hammurabi’s code. She had children. She was a good person who made a terrible mistake, and I wanted the prosecutor (same one here by the way) to handle the case in such a way that would make he world a better place. Putting her children on welfare coming from my tax dollars didn’t seem to serve much purpose when there we other punishments like paper hanging over her head head that would be adequate. I’m not a bleeding heart liberal. Not liberal at all. But I am disgusted with how our system only cares about punishment and deterrence and cares nothing about rehabilitation. These are still humans we are talking about. You are free to have your fire and brimstone approach to people who commit non violent crimes against you or others. I at least want to approach is more sensibly than lock the up and throw away the key. But I’m a weirdo right?

Anonymous said...

12:32 - her children will be on welfare because she is going to prison for a year or so? What about her several hundred thousand house and farm where they live? And her husband (who has lived off the Chris McDaniel tit for quite a while, but before that mistake he actually worked for a living doing things other than raising goats)? Can he not do something to help keep her children off of welfare so you won't have to be paying for their care? Did she have any savings from her $100k salary, plus "benefits, intentional or not"?

I'm not worried about her having her tush in the pokey for a while over the raising of her kids. Plenty of her cell/hallway mates do offer that concern, but I doubt her kids are going to be living off SNAP in 2019.

Anonymous said...

Since these charges were filed, I've wondered why YW pursued criminal charges so vigorously when this is basically a contract dispute between business partners. Perhaps YW was tipped off that SP was "embezzling" funds to compensate realtors for referrals. There have been rumors of that for years. Would explain why YW went after her so aggressively. Would also explain why she accepted a plea with significant jail time when she could have challenged the charges, b/c she would have to implicate others and risk additional charges to defend herself. If no client funds were involved, I don't understand how she wasn't able to settle for a payment plan and no jail time. Just thinking out loud ...

Anonymous said...

SP was an attorney. She broke the law and should have known better. She knows that what she imdid is wrong but she not above the law.

While buying elaborate vacations and exotic goats she was stealing. Plain and simple. She’s a felon.

Anonymous said...

I don’t have a dog in this hunt but everyone that is taking up for her seems to ignore the fact that per the civil suit allegations and the criminal info, she created a fake abstracting LLC and was paying money into it. Thats way more serious that losing some food receipts. Also if she was doing “favors” for realtors to gain businesss, she may have been violating RESPA which is serious for everyone involved. Sorry it happened. For her and her family and the firm.

Anonymous said...

The most "religious" state is also the most corrupt state. Go figure.

Anonymous said...

Saw many employee crimes including using company credit cards for over 30K end with the employee being offered a chance to resign. Never saw someone arrested for charging porn on the company, even physical theft was termination. This at e the largest corporations in the State. The typical results was a you fu...guys message, more ules added on double and triple approvals. Only met her once, closed a land sale, know nothing other than she was very highly thought off. A guy got 10 years for murdering a man, taking his ring. Justice?Actually glad and sad I do not know many people here.

Anonymous said...

Most of these are poorly misinformed ideas by the way she sold all her property and went totally broke to pay for her defense trust me I know mistakes were made but anyone think young wells insurance claim of $750000 has to do with it but they're the victims here smh



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