Circuit Judge Robert Hawley said he will rule by
Wednesday in the criminal case of Ira Hatch, a
disbarred attorney who is accused to taking several million dollars
from clients of his now-defunct Vero Beach-based Coastal Escrow firm. The case spans a number of years, from 2004 until Coastal Escrow
unexpectedly closed in late 2007 with virtually no money in its
accounts. The case also involves Hatch’s spending at his former law firm, Hatch and Doty. Vero Beach police arrested Hatch, 62, in early 2008 on 57 criminal charges and he is being held in the Indian River County Jail.
Judge Hawley set Tuesday’s hearing during a court session in August in which he indefinitely postponed the trial because the State Attorney’s Office added a potential key forensic accounting expert witness, a local certified public accountant, who has been reviewing Hatch’s financial records. Eisenmenger said he needed time to review what the witness is finding.
Excerpted from tcpalm.com.
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