Lawyer Sentenced to Prison Over Scrap Metal Export Scheme

Richard Luthmann, a Staten Island, New York, lawyer, was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and extortion in March (see 1903190032), the Justice Department said in a news release. Luthmann participated in a scheme to contract with overseas companies to sell and ship them containers of valuable scrap metal, but instead packed the containers with "worthless filler materials," such as concrete blocks, the DOJ said.