Man arrested at grandson’s Little League game while his attorney brother still on the run

The brother of a Columbus attorney accused of stealing more than $1 million in insurance settlement funds from his clients is now facing felony theft charges of his own in connection with the ongoing investigation.

James Malcolm Snipes, 74, of Fortson appeared in Recorder’s Court Friday morning on five theft by taking charges. Judge Julius Hunter bound the cases to Superior Court and ordered Snipes held on $125,000 bond.

Malcolm Snipes is an older brother of George W. “Bill” Snipes, who has 18 outstanding warrants from Columbus police on felony theft charges, claiming he stole more than $1 million from clients. Those arrest warrants were issued more than a month ago and “Bill” Snipes has eluded authorities.

The police have not filed additional charges against Bill Snipes, but the investigation is continuing. There may be as many as 30 or more cases and the amount clients have lost could be as much as $4 million, Columbus police Sgt. Wendy Thornton said after the hearing.

Warrants for Malcolm Snipes’ were issued in the last week and he was arrested three days ago by Harris County authorities while attending his grandson’s Little League championship game, Columbus police Detective Crystal Hatcher told the court.

Malcolm Snipes is accused of withdrawing $38,650 from his brother’s legal trust account at the Columbus BB&T during a three-week period in November and December, Hatcher told the court. The five withdrawals were all under the $10,000 threshold that would have required the bank to report them to the Internal Revenue Service, the detective said.

“James Malcolm Snipes withdrew large sums of money from that account, funds that should have been disbursed to the victims,” Hatcher said.

Malcolm Snipes is not an attorney, but has signature authority on his brother’s law firm trust account, Hatcher testified.

Former clients claim that Bill Snipes settled cases involving automobile accidents without informing them, forged their signatures on settlement documents, and when the insurance company sent the settlement checks to Bill Snipes, he kept the money and did not inform his clients.

Columbus attorney Bobby Jones, representing Malcolm Snipes, argued there was no crime because there was no victim. Hatcher asserted the bank was the victim.

“The bank was not the victim,” Jones argued. “You may have a strong case against his brother, but there is no evidence that James Malcolm Snipes was anything but an employee of his brother. William Snipes may very well be guilty of these charges, but my client is not.”

Hunter did not buy that argument and set a bond of $25,000 on each of the five charges. The prosecution asked for no bond, claiming that Malcolm Snipes was a flight risk.

“I believe he will leave as soon as he posts that bond,” Hatcher told the court.

There was evidence that Malcolm Snipes had been in Alabama, Mississippi and other places in Georgia, avoiding contact from law enforcement, Hatcher said. Police believe that Malcolm Snipes has been with his brother during part of that time, Hatcher told the court.

After the hearing, Jones was asked if Malcolm Snipes knew where his brother, Bill Snipes, was.

“I didn’t ask him,” Jones said. “From the fact that I have known his brother for many years. I didn’t want to know where his bother is because if his brother is arrested, I wouldn’t want someone thinking that I had notified the police.”

Bill Snipes, who has practiced locally since 1979, was suspended indefinitely and the State Bar of Georgia has requested that he be disbarred. Five former clients filed complaints with the state bar, which licenses and regulates attorneys in Georgia.

Bill Snipes has been a solo practitioner since January 2012, with an office at 1300 Wynnton Road, Suite 101. Previously, he practiced with his two brothers, David and Robert, until the partnership was dissolved in early 2012.

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Man arrested at grandson’s Little League game while his attorney brother still on the run."