‘Girls Gone Wild’ lawyer indicted for mail fraud

Stephen B. Evans, a St. Louis attorney, was indicted Oct. 18 on three felony counts of mail fraud, months after he was suspended by the Missouri Supreme Court’s Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel for misappropriating client funds.

Between 2007 and 2012, Evans sometimes would keep entire checks insurance companies sent to him as settlements for his clients, rather than paying the clients and expenses and keeping the remainder as his fees, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Evans, 45, did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment. Online records searches did not indicate that Evans has an attorney in the matter.

Evans has been under the microscope for his conduct in recent years. In 2011, the OCDC suspended him from practicing law January 12 for failure to pay taxes, but he was reinstated that April 13after resolving the matter, according to Supreme Court records. His current suspension began March 9 of this year.

Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel said in a telephone interview Friday that the OCDC suspended Evans for misappropriating client funds and failing to cooperate with the OCDC in its investigation.

“We’re aware of it,” Pratzel said of the indictment. “Through the criminal process, often that’s the quickest way for our discipline cases to be concluded.”

If he is convicted, Evans, who lives in St. Louis County, could face up to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for each of the three counts, the press release said. The indictment says Evans defrauded clients of “in excess of between $70,000 and $120,000.”

Pratzel said if Evans is found guilty, the OCDC will pursue further sanctions up to disbarment.

Evans had been part of a headline-making case in recent years, representing a woman who said her image had been used without her consent in the soft-core ‘Girls Gone Wild’ series of videos. That plaintiff ultimately prevailed, winning a $5.77 million award against the video company.