Sonya Eddings pleads guilty to stealing $2.3 million in federal court

The former wife of a prominent Columbus real estate closing attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon in federal court for her role in a scheme to steal more than $2.3 million from her then-husband’s legal trust account.

Sonya Eddings, 51, appeared in front of U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land and freely admitted her role in years of fraud that was discovered in October 2012. She entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Land will sentence her on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Columbus federal courthouse. Currently living in Pennsylvania, Eddings was released on an unsecured $10,000 bond until sentencing.

The guilty plea comes almost four years after Columbus Bank & Trust Co. alerted Muscogee County Superior Court about shortfalls in attorney Michael Eddings real estate trust account. Since the fraud was discovered, Michael Eddings has maintained his innocence, saying his wife was solely responsible for the missing funds. No criminal charges have been filed against Michael Eddings, though he does face potential disbarment from the Georgia Supreme Court.

The Eddingses have since divorced, and Michael Eddings has remarried.

Sonya Eddings’ court-appointed attorney, Barbara A. McCormick of Opelika, Ala., was clear that her client will continue to cooperate with federal authorities.

“We remain confident the U.S. Attorney’s Office is working diligently to indict all involved parties,” McCormick said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined comment.

“My client’s actions occurred during her marriage to Michael Eddings and today she pleaded guilty and is ready to face the consequences of her actions,” McCormick said. “We are hopeful that the court will impose a sentence for her to the degree with which she was involved.”

Sonya Eddings waived federal indictment, the normal step in a felony criminal prosecution, and entered the guilty plea. She also faces the possibility of having to pay more than $2.324 million in restitution.

At least four times under oath, Sonya Eddings has said that she, as her husband’s office manager, was solely responsible for the thefts from the real estate trust account. She admitted her role during a deposition for a civil case in December 2012, in FBI interviews in 2012 and 2013, and in a Georgia State Bar hearing in April 2013.

In that bar hearing, Sonya Eddings admitted under oath to moving money out of the trust account and into other accounts under her control. The couple owned two coffee shops and a downtown restaurant at the time authorities discovered the trust account issue.

In Tuesday’s federal guilty-plea hearing, the facts read into the record by Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals, Sonya Eddings admitted to covering up financial issues with the coffee shops, restaurants and law office with transfers from the legal trust account, which had a high volume of activity because of the number of real estate closings his office was doing between 2007 and 2011. She also said that some of the money was diverted for personal use by her and her then-husband.

In October 2011, the scheme fell apart when Sonya Eddings was out of town and the law office received a call from a client complaining that a payoff of a mortgage had not been made. Sonya Eddings immediately transferred the money, but by the time she did, First American Title Insurance, which insured their closings, became involved.

Auditors were brought into the office, and Sonya Eddings confessed in a written statement.

CB&T had also frozen all of Eddings’ business and personal accounts, according to testimony. At the time, the Eddingses were building a $1 million home with an $800,000 construction loan from CB&T.

First American later sued Michael and Sonya Eddings, all of their restaurant holdings and CB&T in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia. First American and CB&T settled out of court and terms of the deal were not released. In dismissing the case, Land issued a $1.99 million judgment for First American against Michael Eddings and a $2.09 million judgment against Sonya Eddings.

Eddings continues to practice law in Columbus and Atlanta. A State Bar of Georgia Review Panel recommended earlier this year that Eddings be disbarred for his role in the theft. The recommendation goes to the state Supreme Court, which will make the final ruling.

This story was originally published August 2, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Sonya Eddings pleads guilty to stealing $2.3 million in federal court."