Hogan seeks permission to sell law office
By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor
LOUISA — Lawrence County Attorney Michael Hogan filed motions Monday in federal court seeking permission to sell his law office to help pay his legal expenses and to travel to Western Kentucky to meet with his lawyer.
Michael Hogan, 53, and his wife Joy Hogan, 41, were indicted in June on charges of wire fraud, federal program theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove rescheduled the Hogans’ Aug. 16 trial date to Jan. 18, 2022.
Hogan filed a motion in U.S. District Court Monday seeking to permit the sale of real property and a motion to amend the conditions of his release, permitting him to travel to the Western District of Kentucky to consult with his attorney, John David Cole Jr., without the permission of the United States Probation Office.
Hogan said in his motion that it will be necessary for him to consult and meet with Cole at various times as the case progresses and asks that the bond condition be amended to permit him to travel to the Western District of Kentucky to meet with Cole without USPO’s proper approval, making the process of scheduling client meetings more efficient and will reduce the burden placed on USPO to supervise Hogans visits with Cole.
According to the first motion, Hogan is asking the court to enter an order permitting him to sell property at 314 East Madison Street in Louisa, which currently serves as his law office.
Hogan is charged in a 15-count indictment that also includes a forfeiture allegation. Upon conviction, the forfeiture allegations indicate that Hogan will be required to forfeit “any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable” to the offense of conviction. The forfeiture allegation also states that the property to be forfeited could include a money judgment or “substitute property.”
Hogan said in the motion that he purchased the property to serve as his law office more than a decade before the applicable time period identified in the indictment and that he requires additional resources to pay for legal expenses in connection with this case.
Hogan said in the motion that he requests that the court enter an order permitting him to sell the property and to utilize the proceeds to satisfy any existing liens and encumbrances, with the balance to be deposited in the IOLTA account of John David Cole Jr., lead counsel for Hogan, as a retainer for his services.
Joy Hogan is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Michael Hogan is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and five counts of federal program theft.