Marc Dreier

(AP) - A once-prominent Manhattan attorney was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for a hatching a massive fraud in a brazen attempt to keep his law firm afloat and bankroll a lavish lifestyle. Prosecutors had sought 145 years behind bars for Marc Dreier. But the judge concluded he was "no Mr. Madoff" — a reference to disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, who last month received a 150-year term. Mr. Dreier, 59, had pleaded guilty to a seven-year, $400 million scheme that, though eclipsed by Madoff's multibillion dollar swindle, was so outlandish prosecutors labeled him "the Houdini of impersonation and false documents." Marc Dreier was a star in the New York legal community, establishing his own firm, which ultimately became Dreier LLP, in 1996, and growing it to include five offices and as many as 250 attorneys. Dreier, a native New Yorker born on May 12, 1950, was a double Ivy League graduate, receiving a BA from Yale and his JD from Harvard Law School. Dreier worked at two prestigious law firms. Dreier was subsequently disbarred by the State of New York. Another accomplice, Robert Miller, was also charged and ultimately plead guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in November 2009. Kosta S. Kovachev, a former registered broker, also plead guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in prison for his role in the fraud. Dreier is scheduled to be release on October 26, 2026.