Family
May 27, 2000
Lawyer Admits To One Count Of Grand Theft
SAN FRANCISCO - A Santa Rosa family lawyer and two-time City Council candidate has pleaded no contest to charges that she stole more than $90,000 from a client.
Elveta Louise Francis, 56, faces up to four years in prison after admitting one count of grand theft Wednesday. She is accused of draining a trust account holding money belonging to a client going through a divorce.
A graduate of Whittier Law School who was admitted to the bar in 1980, Francis narrowly missed election to the Santa Rosa City Council in 1986 and ran another, less successful campaign in 1988.
Francis represented Gerald Steeves during his divorce. According to Sonoma County prosecutors, Steeves sold his home as part of the proceedings and deposited the money in Francis' trust account. Between June 1995 and January 1997, the attorney used the money as her own, spending the entire amount Steeves earned in the sale.
Francis' lawyer, Peter Ottenweller, said his client has repaid Steeves $2,500 and could pay more before she is sentenced in September. Ottenweller said he will ask the court to place Francis on probation.
Francis resigned her license to practice law and now works as a legal secretary, Ottenweller said.
Tyler Cunningham
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