MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An attorney for a former Oklahoma oilman charged with helping steal millions of dollars from funeral home trust funds in Tennessee and Michigan said he will likely plead guilty.
The Commercial Appeal reports Michael Scholl announced the plan in a Memphis criminal court on Monday but did not say exactly what charges Clayton Smart is likely to plead guilty to or how much time he would serve.
Smart's attorneys did say their client, who has been in jail for nearly three years, would likely not "walk out of prison when he enters a guilty plea."
Smart is likely to plead guilty to federal charges, as well as to state charges in Michigan and Tennessee, which would let the 70-year-old avoid the lengthy process of going through three separate trials.
Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs Jr. ordered Smart to return to court on April 20.
