Scott Lennox

WARSAW — Former local attorney Scott Lennox, 51, Warsaw, who faces eight felony criminal charges, withdrew a  ‘not guilty’ plea on Friday, Jan. 3, and entered a plea of ‘guilty.’

An order granting the motion to enter the plea of guilty pursuant to a plea agreement was signed Jan. 3. 

In April, Lennox was charged with eight felony criminal charges, including two counts of fraud on a financial institution and six counts of theft. 

According to an affidavit of probable cause, on Nov. 27, 2018, an officer with the Warsaw Police Department met with attorney Matthew Buehler, a partner with Joseph Sobek and Scott Lennox. Buehler said Lennox had illegally taken money from three trust accounts and also took money from the business operating account of Lennox, Sobek and Buehler, LLC.

On Oct. 30, 2018, Buehler became aware that Lennox was removing money from the law firm’s trust account for personal use.

Buehler was notified by the law firm’s bookkeeper that Lennox made a cash withdrawal on Oct. 30, 2018, of $5,500 from the trust account. Similar incidents occurred on Nov. 7, 2018, with a cash withdrawal of $3,500 from the trust account and a $3,000 deposit into the business account; and on Nov. 8, 2018, with a cash withdrawal of $4,000 from the trust account, with $3,500 being deposited into the business account. Buehler removed Lennox from the trust account on Nov. 15, 2018.

On Nov. 29, 2018, a WPD officer spoke with the law firm’s bookkeeper. According to the bookkeeper, she wrote checks at Lennox’s discretion for $7,000 to Bowers Jewelry and $6,000 to The Car Company. Lennox signed both checks. The Bowers Jewelry check was for an engagement ring, and The Car Company check was for payment of Lennox’s son’s vehicle.

On April 15, acting upon anonymous information, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Deputies found Lennox at a motel in West Lansing, Mich. He was extradited to Kosciusko County Jail.

Sentencing is set for 11 a.m. Feb. 28 in Marshall County Superior Court 2 in Plymouth.