Reuters: A former partner at the Mayer Brown law firm whose clients included Refco Inc was sentenced on Monday to one year and one day in federal prison for his role in a multibillion-dollar fraud at the now defunct ... Joseph Collins also must spend two years under supervised release following his prison term under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Loretta Preska. Collins was found guilty in November on seven counts in helping the owners and executives of Refco conceal a $2.4 billion fraud that caused the firm's demise in 2005. It was the second trial for Collins, who was found guilty on charges including conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud. In January 2012, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the 2009 conviction of Collins, who at that time was sentenced to seven years in prison. The appeals court found that the judge at the first trial should have called defense lawyers in before advising a recalcitrant juror to continue deliberating. The court remanded the case for a new trial, which began in October 2012. At Monday's sentencing, Collins' attorney William Schwartz portrayed his client as a family man and a community volunteer in Chicago. In her ruling, Preska said she took Collins's track record of community service into account. She said his case deviated from a standard fraud trial because Collins did not directly financially benefit from the scheme perpetrated by Refco executives to hide the company's financial woes and that he served in a "secondary role" as an advisor. The Refco fraud, which was revealed soon after the company's August 2005 initial public offering, led to the prosecution of several executives. Former chief executive Phillip Bennett is serving a 16-year prison sentence and former president Tone Grant is serving 10 years. Justice.
