Why lawyers are gearing up for a fight over sentence for Dustin Johnson’s former attorney

While federal prosecutors are seeking a nearly 22-year sentence for Dustin Johnson’s former attorney Nathan “Nat” Hardwick, the defense team for the convicted Atlanta attorney argues he should receive only an eight-year sentence.

The sentencing hearing for Hardwick has been pushed back another month to Feb. 11 at the request of Hardwick’s attorneys to give them more time to prepare.

It had already been continued from Dec. 19 to Jan. 10 and will be heard by Judge Eleanor Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

A federal jury convicted Hardwick in October of embezzling an estimated $26 million from his now-bankrupt residential real estate closing firm Morris Hardwick Schneider, of which he was a 55 percent partner, and the affiliated LandCastle Title company.

Johnson claimed in a lawsuit against Hardwick, his firm and his firm partners that he was bilked out of $3 million in 2014 with a fabricated story about an investment opportunity, and that the money was actually used to cover shortages in the firm’s accounts.

The Coastal Carolina alumnus and Columbia native who is the third-ranked professional golfer in the world reached a $2 million settlement that had to be approved by a bankruptcy court in 2016.

Hardwick, 53, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 21 counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to federally insured banks.

Earlier this month, the defense and prosecution filed sentencing memos stating their cases.

Prosecutors claim in their memo filed Jan. 4 that Hardwick “is an unusually greedy, deceptive and manipulative fraudster who has no remorse and who has shown contempt for his law partners, his clients, his victims, and the law.”

Hardwick argued at trial he believed millions he siphoned from the firm were due to him as majority owner, and blamed his indicted co-conspirator Asha Maurya, the firm’s controller, for the theft from client escrow accounts.

While Hardwick admits to requesting funds from Maurya for his benefit that were not firm-related, he said he had no idea client trust funds and law firm funds had been comingled and he didn’t intend to defraud anyone. He refutes the prosecution’s claim that he obstructed justice or committed perjury.

Maurya agreed to cooperate with the government before the trial and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors did not call her to testify and she is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 12.

In requesting 22 years, the prosecution seeks sentencing enhancements for the large amount of money taken, alleged perjury, the number of victims, Hardwick’s alleged role as the leader of a criminal activity, abuse of a position of trust, and the seriousness of the offenses.

“Hardwick’s self-dealing caused his law firm to implode and put approximately 800 people out of work,” the prosecution stated in its memo, adding the damage to the residential title-insurance industry could have been “catastrophic.”

Hardwick’s legal team, headed by Ed Garland of Garland, Samuel and Loeb of Atlanta, says it needs more time before sentencing in part because it is still awaiting transcripts from some witness testimony that occurred over 12 days during the trial.

In its sentencing memo filed Jan. 3, the attorney team argues the prosecution “has failed to prove an appropriate loss amount for sentencing,” saying the loss amount was not proven at trial and was erroneously based on the amount infused by the firm’s main title insurer Fidelity National Title to cover shortfalls.

The memo adds that Maurya stole an amount of money from the escrow accounts that was never precisely determined at trial, and the amount Hardwick was due as majority owner was also never accurately determined.

His attorneys claim in their memo that Hardwick “certainly failed at managing his own expenses, keeping up with his personal expenditure and distributions, and managing the firm financially. And clearly, he also placed trust in the wrong controller, Ms. Maurya.”

Hardwick also seeks credit for all or some of his 32 months of home confinement with an ankle monitor.

At trial, prosecutors documented Hardwick’s spending of nearly $4 million on three women, more than $10 million on gambling and several million on properties and trips, including private jet travel.

According to an article by Meredith Hobbs of Law.com, prosecutor J. Russell Phillips claims a lot of money is still unaccounted for and Hardwick transferred at least $5 million from MHS to the bank account of his girlfriend, Julia Olivares. Phillips claims he wired her the money in $500,000 increments and it was subsequently withdrawn in cashier’s checks.

Law.com says Olivares, 31, was wearing an 8.35-carat diamond ring at the verdict hearing that Hardwick bought for $285,000 for a now ex-fiancee, according to government evidence from the trial.

S.C. POYs named

The Lowcountry had the top junior girl and boy in South Carolina in 2018 according to the state’s Heritage Classic Foundation Rankings, which are based on overall finishes in more than 200 tournaments both in the state and nationwide.

Jonathan Griz of Bluffton is the S.C. Junior Golf Association’s Jay Haas Player of the Year, and Abigail Schimpf of Daniel Island is the SCJGA’s Beth Daniel Player of the Year.

Griz, a ninth-grader, is the youngest boys winner since the inaugural year. His 2018 season included 16 top-10 finishes and four national/regional tournament victories (Bobby Chapman Invitational conducted by the SCJGA, the Harvey Brock Orange Jacket Classic, The Carolinas Junior PGA Championship and the Hilton Head Island Amateur).

He also qualified for match play and reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Junior at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey and had a 72.4 scoring average in ’18.

Schimpf had 12 top-10 finishes last year, including victories at the SCJGA Fall Challenge and WSCGA Foundation Championship and runner-up finishes at the SCJGA The Blade Junior Classic, CGA Twin States Girls and 2017 Donald Ross Junior Girls.

The University of South Carolina commitment qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and was named the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s Girls 13-18 National Player of the Year and to the Mid-Atlantic Girls Team and GA/SC Girls Junior Team.

The SCGA Player of the Year is Robert Lutomski of Holly Tree and the organization’s Senior Player of the Year is Walter Todd Sr. of Laurens, who earned the honor for the third consecutive year.