Las Vegas injury attorney accused of stealing $1.8M from clients
A local personal injury attorney has been arrested and accused of stealing about $1.8 million from his clients, Las Vegas police said.
Clients of Matthew Dunkley, 53, began coming to Metropolitan Police Department theft detectives in March with reports that Dunkley was misappropriating financial settlements they were supposed to receive in cases he had litigated.
Metro arrested Dunkley on Sunday on 39 counts of theft and booked him into the Clark County Detention Center. His bail was set at $117,000, jail records show.
Clients also accused Dunkley, who ran a law office based at 2450 St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, of taking money from insurance companies that was intended to pay medical bills, a Metro statement said Monday.
Many of the personal injury cases date back to 2012, and one of the cases involved a 5-year-old child who had been attacked by a dog, police said.
“The victims never received their settlements and are now being held personally responsible for the unpaid medical bills,” police said.
Metro is asking for any additional clients of Dunkley’s who may be awaiting settlements to reach out to theft detectives at 702-828-3483 or via email at financialcrimes@lvmpd.com. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Clear Counsel Law Group has taken over some of the cases, police said.
According to the State Bar of Nevada website, Dunkley was licensed in 1998.
Records show that he was suspended from practicing law on Oct. 3, 2017, pending disciplinary proceedings against him.
The Nevada Supreme Court ordered all proceeds, fees and other funds from Dunkley’s clients to be directed to an account he cannot access and barred him from withdrawing from any account associated with his law practice.
A call Monday afternoon to Dunkley’s firm led to an out-of-service number.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
