Three diet case lawyers to face grand jury

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 15 (UPI) -- Three Kentucky lawyers accused of misappropriating $64 million from a fen-phen case settlement reportedly will be the target of a federal grand jury.

Two of the more than 400 plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit brought against Shirley Cunningham Jr., William Gallion and Melbourne Mills Jr. told the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal Thursday that they have been asked to appear before the federal panel.

Jim Shuffett, a lawyer for Mills, told the newspaper he expects his client to be indicted, but not next week because of the large volume of documents seized.

Gallion, Cunningham and Mills have previously denied any wrongdoing.

Fen-phen became widely popular as a weight-loss supplement in the 1990s until it was yanked from the market after being shown to cause heart defects.

Last year, the three Lexington, Ky., lawyers had their law licenses lifted temporarily and the judge who approved the $200 Million 2001 settlement was forced to resign. A fourth lawyer named in the lawsuit, Stan Chesley of Cincinnati, is not a target of the criminal investigation, his attorney said.