PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A lawyer who ran a $46 million investment scheme that exploited terminally ill people has been disbarred.
The Rhode Island Supreme Court on Wednesday disbarred Joseph Caramadre.
Caramadre’s law license was suspended in 2014 after he was convicted. The disbarment is retroactive to 2014.
Caramadre took out bonds and annuities using the personal information of terminally ill people, then collected when they died.
He pleaded guilty in 2013, but tried to withdraw his plea, saying he was innocent and had received an inadequate defense. A judge let the guilty plea stand. Caramadre’s appeal was unsuccessful.
He is currently serving a 6-year term at a federal prison in Massachusetts. He is scheduled to be released in 2018.
