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FBI Captures Disbarred Lawyer Long Wanted For Fraud Charges In Pueblo

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A disbarred Iowa lawyer's long run from the law is over.

Authorities said Thursday that former Coralville lawyer Dennis Bjorklund was arrested last week in Colorado, ending a five-year search for one of the FBI's most-wanted white-collar fugitives. Bjorklund, 50, is in federal custody and will soon be transferred to Iowa to face federal mail and tax fraud charges.

Bjorklund left behind a trail of former clients who say they were ripped off, angry former law partners and baffled investigators when he vanished in 2010. A federal grand jury indicted him that year on charges that he defrauded 11 clients facing drunken driving charges by recommending they make contributions to a phony charity he established and controlled.

He is accused of telling clients the donations would reflect well on their character and likely convince judges to give them lighter sentences. Instead, prosecutors say Bjorklund received the money.

Bjorklund is also charged with drastically underreporting his income to reduce his tax bill - at a time when he was making handsome profits by falsely advertising himself as the nation's leading drunken driving defense attorney.

"Now the fun begins for me," said Cedar Rapids lawyer Charles Hallberg, who worked under Bjorklund from 2003 to 2006 and hopes to see his former boss convicted and sentenced. He remembers showing up to work in 2006 to find the firm's doors locked and Bjorklund gone, and then spending two years untangling the legal mess left behind.

Even before the indictment, Bjorklund was notorious in legal circles for committing ethical violations that led the Iowa Supreme Court to take the unusual step of disbarring him in 2006. Saying he "lies with reckless abandon," the court detailed how Bjorklund misled, overcharged and improperly solicited clients, violated rules on advertising and publicity, and dodged professional regulators looking into complaints. Bjorklund repeatedly avoided being served legal papers during the disciplinary case, once denying his identity by claiming his name was "Jake" and another time losing a shoe while successfully running from a process server.

Federal authorities unsealed the indictment against Bjorklund in 2013 so the FBI could publicize its search for him, saying he was likely traveling with his longtime girlfriend.

The Pueblo, Colorado, County Sheriff's office arrested Bjorklund in Pueblo on April 15 during a traffic stop after receiving a request from the FBI to pull over a vehicle that he was believed to be inside, spokeswoman Laurie Kilpatrick said. Bjorklund was taken into custody without incident, she said, and turned over to federal authorities.

An arraignment hearing for Bjorklund is expected to be scheduled soon in federal court in Davenport, Iowa. A public defender who represented Bjorklund during an initial appearance in Colorado didn't return a message.

Federal authorities declined to release additional details about what prompted the arrest. Search warrant materials unsealed Wednesday at the request of The Associated Press show officers raided two Coralville homes in December as part of an investigation into Bjorklund, his girlfriend and a former Bjorklund business associate.

Investigators said the former business associate appeared to be living in one of the homes still owned by Bjorklund, paying its property taxes, picking up the mail and mowing the yard. He also had ties to the other home and paid vehicle registrations for cars that were under Bjorklund's girlfriend's name, the records show.

Investigators told a judge they may "discover evidence to the location of Dennis A. Bjorklund" during the searches, in which they seized several cellphones and computers.

Hallberg said he was amazed Bjorklund managed to hide for so long, questioning how he earned a living. But attorney Raymond Tinnian, who once worked for Bjorklund and later testified against him, said he was surprised only that the fugitive remained in the United States.

"We are all wondering what he's been up to and what he's been doing," he said. "I can't wait to find out."

- By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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