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COLUMBUS -- A sentencing date has been set for Mark Thomas -- the former St. Clairsville councilman, Belmont County commissioner and attorney who pleaded guilty in August to a federal charge of mail fraud.
Judge Algenon Marbley of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio will hand down his sentence at 9:45 a.m. Feb. 10.
The offenses are related to Thomas' prior law practice, not his time in public office. He was accused of abusing his power of attorney for an elderly client with dementia and stealing more than $500,000 from her.
Thomas, 62, faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. Included in the plea agreement was restitution of at least $882,502. He initially was charged with four counts, but three were dismissed when he changed his plea to guilty.
According to the indictment, Thomas was accused of defrauding his client from 2012 through August 2019 while serving as her power of attorney. The allegations state that he took her money without her knowledge or permission to use for his own benefit.
The victim was 85 years old at the time these alleged crimes began.
The indictment states that Thomas improperly used her power of attorney and his status as a lawyer to convince various entities such as banks and life insurance companies to transfer his client's money for him. This reportedly continued even after Thomas' law license was revoked in 2015.
In 2019, Thomas was jailed for 30 days for contempt of court by Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra when he reportedly failed to comply with a court order to fully turn over financial documents in a civil case related to his time as power of attorney over the client. The case was dismissed in May 2019.
In 2021, Thomas was arrested on a federal warrant and charged with four counts of mail fraud. He had his first hearings before Marbley, who had said the trial might take a month due to the complex nature of a financial fraud case.
That year, Thomas sought election to St. Clairsville's 3rd Ward council seat and ran unopposed while charged with the crime. He was elected and sworn in at the beginning of 2022. He resigned from his council seat in August, the same day he pleaded guilty.