Bankruptcy lawyer gets prison for cheating clients of $3.4M

A Connecticut bankruptcy attorney who swindled millions of dollars from his clients has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison.

Seventy-year-old Woodbridge resident Peter Ressler pleaded guilty to wire fraud, embezzlement from a bankruptcy estate and bankruptcy fraud.

The New Haven Register reports Ressler misappropriated $3.4 million from dozens of clients. It says he used the money for living and business expenses, trips to Florida and multiple boats.

Ressler has to pay back $4.8 million, which includes money he owes to scores of other clients.

Ressler said in court Monday he accepts responsibility for "the immeasurable harm" he caused. He says he's "beyond sorry" and lives with "deep and penetrating sorrow."

Prosecutors say the people Ressler defrauded were emotionally vulnerable and "down to their last dollars."

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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com