Federal agents last year raided the law offices of Gary Prolman, an attorney in Saco, to investigate whether he laundered money for a former client who now faces a long prison sentence for drug offenses, according to documents unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland.
No charges have been brought against Prolman, who represented several men accused in the high-profile Kennebunk prostitution scandal in 2012 and 2013 and has worked as an agent for Brian Dumoulin of Biddeford, a professional hockey player in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
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Investigators from the Internal Revenue Service searched Prolman’s office at 743 Portland Road on Nov. 19 and seized boxes of financial documents, business records and computer equipment in connection with a former client, David Jones of Portland.
Jones was targeted in a federal investigation in 2012 after authorities learned of his involvement in a large-scale marijuana smuggling operation spanning from California to Maine.
Prolman began representing Jones in February 2012 as a consultant for Jones’ music and clothing businesses, Kaotik Music Group and Kaotik Clothing. Prolman later agreed to sell Jones a portion of his sports advisory business, GMP Sports Inc., and to jointly buy the building where Prolman had his law office, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
Prolman received at least $100,000 cash from Jones toward partial ownership of GMP Sports Inc. and $75,000 toward the $355,000 sale price of the office building, but the final title for Prolman’s building showed him as the sole owner, an IRS agent said in an affidavit seeking the search warrant.
Prolman, reached by phone Tuesday, said he had no idea that Jones may have been involved in drug smuggling. He said he abruptly broke off their business relations after Jones was first arrested, in September 2012 in Kansas.
“I have absolutely no involvement (with Jones) other than that he scammed me and tried to invest in my company,” Prolman said. “He lied to me and told me he was in the music business, buying and selling music.”
IRS Special Agent Janet Pepin, who sought the search warrant for Prolman’s law offices, said in an affidavit filed with the court under seal in November that Prolman willfully deposited cash given to him by Jones in smaller amounts to avoid drawing attention from federal authorities. It’s not clear whether the $175,000 that Prolman allegedly received from Jones is the total amount being investigated.
“Prolman admitted that when he received more than $10,000 from Jones at one time, he broke up the deposits in amounts under $10,000 to avoid the currency reporting requirements in violation of (federal law). Prolman stated he did not want the government in his life and did not want to file paperwork regarding the deposits,” Pepin said in the affidavit. “Prolman maintains that he believed Jones was involved in the music industry and that the monies he received from Jones were derived from Jones’ music endeavors.”
Prolman’s attorney, Peter DeTroy, acknowledged that the seal he requested on the search warrant documents has been lifted, but would not comment on the case further.
Jones, who goes by the nickname “David Kaos,” became the target of the federal investigation after a friend who helped him with the drug business was arrested while driving about 100 pounds of marijuana from California to Maine, according to court records.
The friend, who is not identified in court records, provided information to police after his arrest on Sept. 5, 2012, telling authorities that Jones had 5,500 pounds of marijuana shipped to him from California in 2011 and 2012 using the U.S. Postal Service.
Jones, 29, pleaded guilty Dec. 10 to two counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and two counts of conspiracy to launder money and aiding and abetting. He faces as much as 40 years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for May 8.
Prolman said he had known Jones for only six months when Jones was arrested. He said that all of Jones’ investments in his business and real estate were fully documented.
“I’ve been completely cooperative with the government,” Prolman said. “I’ve done everything I could.
“It’s just been a nightmare for me for two years,” he said. “I’ve done everything my whole life the right way. I’ve been in practice for 23 years.”
Prolman, who was admitted to the Maine bar in 1991, practices some criminal law but has devoted most of his work in the past eight years to the sports industry, consulting with athletes and managing events.
He recently won an acquittal for a man who was accused of hiring the former Zumba instructor Alexis Wright for sex.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Perry, whose office will decide whether to charge Prolman, declined to comment on the case.
Court records indicate nothing about what, if anything, may come next. Judge Nancy Torresen issued no written filing to accompany her order to lift the seal.
Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at:
Twitter: @scottddolan
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