PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh attorney shares his perspective on the issue Charges facing Westmoreland County attorney He is accused of defrauding an incarcerated woman of thousands of dollars by using her to gamble.

“In my 20 years of experience, I have never seen a claim like this,” said defense attorney Blaine Jones. “You hear about lawyers taking money and doing things with it that they probably shouldn’t, but I’ve never seen an allegation that money was taken from someone who wasn’t legally competent. I’ve never seen that.”

The victim, a woman in her 60s, was awaiting a competency evaluation determination and had previously been deemed incompetent to stand trial in other cases, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.

The lawyer, identified by prosecutors as John Allen Roth, faces a number of charges including theft and deceptive business practices. The prosecutor said Roth visited the woman in prison and promised to get her out if she paid a $2,500 representation fee.

Not only did Roth never appear as an attorney or bail the woman out of jail, but he and his employee withdrew more than $31,000 from the woman’s account, according to the prosecutor.

“That dollar amount could lead to some form of incarceration if a person were actually found guilty,” Jones said.

According to the prosecutor, these funds were used to finance Roth’s gambling habit. Detectives found that he traded more than $382,000 on Live! Casino from April to September this year.

“If that were truly the case, there would be serious repercussions and that would be a tragedy,” Jones said.

Gambling addiction could be considered a mitigating factor in a potential sentence, Jones said. At the same time, according to the Prosecutor, the fact that he is waiting for a qualification evaluation decision could turn things around.

“If a person is preying on a person who is not legally competent, the courts will punish such a person because that person is perhaps even more vulnerable due to their lack of mental understanding,” Jones said.

While Roth faces charges in Westmoreland County, Jones announced that a state disciplinary board will also review Roth’s actions after a complaint is filed. They may suspend his ability to practice law or disbar him.

The board disciplined Roth in 2016 for misconduct in two divorce cases. They said he represented clients without their consent. In addition, in 2009, the board disclosed that he borrowed $15,000 from a customer without disclosing his full rights.