Detroit, MI – A Michigan attorney accused of exploiting his wealthy Carhartt heiress client as trustee testified Wednesday that he intended to repay the roughly $15 million he had loaned himself from her trust. David P. Sutherland took the stand during the second week of his jury trial.
Grosse Pointe Farms attorney David P. Sutherland was questioned extensively about his relationship with the late Gretchen Valade, his former client and a leader at Carhartt, and the loans he took from her irrevocable trust to fund other business ventures.
Sutherland’s attorney, James Joseph Sullivan, asked Sutherland directly if he had done anything dishonest or defrauded Valade’s trust. Sutherland responded, “No. My intention was to borrow the money and to pay it back.”
Sutherland, who is in good standing with the Michigan State Bar, faces charges of embezzling from a vulnerable adult, two charges of embezzling more than $100,000, and one count of conducting a criminal enterprise. Prosecutors allege he issued himself a series of loans from one of the trusts without Valade’s permission.
