Waste of the Day: 33 Hours Worked Per Day in NY
Topline: An attorney in Syracuse, NY, gave up her law license on July 22 after she admitted to overbilling a taxpayer-funded legal program by $160,000, according to Syracuse.com. She is not expected to face criminal charges.
Key facts: The Onondaga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program is one of many across the country that uses public funds to provide lawyers for defendants who can’t afford an attorney.
The county district attorney’s office found that Marsha Hunt, 63, billed the program for more than 12 hours worked in one day several times starting in 2022. Five times, she claimed to have worked an entire 24 hours in one day, including an impossible 33 hours on Nov. 29, 2022. When confronted by the district attorney, Hunt reportedly said that she “works a lot,” Syracuse.com reported.
The county’s online payment system is supposed to block lawyers from billing more than 12 hours per day, but there was a glitch that went unnoticed for 12 to 18 months. It was finally fixed in August 2023.
In a court affidavit reviewed by Syracuse.com, Hunt admitted to falsifying records to hide her misconduct and presenting them to judges who unknowingly signed off on the improper payments.
The district attorney’s office is not pressing criminal charges. DA William Fitzpatrick told Syracuse.com the overbilling could have been a result of “bad bookkeeping” and not necessarily intentional fraud.
Instead, Fitzpatrick gave up her law license and $250,000 she was owed from the program. The district attorney’s office said Hunt legitimately earned about two-thirds of the $250,000, but the rest is believed to be from overbilling.
Hunt had already been investigated and censured by the district attorney’s office in 2023 after she found login credentials to the online payment system in a judge’s chambers and used them to edit a clerk’s timecard.
Background: Hunt found a way to scam taxpayer funds from her community, but attorneys can take home huge payments from assigned counsel programs even when playing by the rules.
Lawyers in New York can earn $158 per hour by representing indigent defendants, which has allowed some attorneys to take home over $400,000 per year from taxpayers. The highest state-level rate in the country is Maryland’s $164 per hour, though the Maryland Public Defender previously told OpenTheBooks their budget does not allow for payments that high.
Federal defenders working on capital cases can earn up to $220 per hour.
Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: A 33-hour workday may be impossible, but sadly there is nothing unusual about yet another scheme to siphon money from a taxpayer-funded program.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
We're proud to make our journalism accessible to everyone, but producing high-quality investigative pieces still comes at a cost.
That's why we need your help. By making a contribution today, you'll be supporting RealClearInvestigations and ensuring that we can keep providing in-depth reporting that holds the powerful accountable.
Donate now and help us continue to publish distinctive journalism that makes a difference. Thank you for your support!
Support RealClearInvestigations →
