Fen-phen lawyers draw long prison terms

COVINGTON, Ky., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Two disbarred lawyers convicted of defrauding clients in Kentucky's $200 million fen-phen settlement must serve long prison sentences, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves ruled in Covington, Ky., Monday that William Gallion must serve 25 years in prison while Shirley Cunningham Jr. must serve 20 years, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.

Reeves, accusing the pair of "unbridled greed" and saying they had not shown "grain of remorse," also ruled the pair must pay $127 million in restitution and forfeit another $30 million to the state.

The judge imposed sentences that were 10 years less than sought by prosecutors, prompting Assistant U.S. Attorney E.J. Walbourn to tell the newspaper he will consider appealing the decision.

The two defendants also indicated they will appeal Reeves' decision, but attorney Angela Ford, who represents most of 440 former fen-phen clients of the disbarred pair, told the newspaper she was pleased.

Gallion and Cunningham were convicted in April of eight counts of fraud for taking $94.6 million in settlement money meant for victims of the diet drug fen-phen, which was removed from the market after it shown to cause heart damage.