Cedar County Attorney Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud for Defrauding Vulnerable Clients

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Estate and special-needs trust money is supposed to support vulnerable people, not the lawyer holding it. On Feb. 27, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced that Cedar County attorney Peter A. Lee, 50, of Stockton, Mo., pleaded guilty to wire fraud for defrauding clients [1].

Status: Lee pleaded guilty. From January 2019 through February 2025 he obtained $296,140 in client funds through the scheme, according to the release. Sentencing details were not finalized in the announcement [1].

How the scheme worked, according to prosecutors

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office [1]:

1. Lee devised a scheme to take client funds for personal benefit and concealed it with false statements to clients and financial institutions.
2. Victims included decedent estates and a special-needs trust. He also used client funds to repay victims of prior thefts.

The person who pleaded guilty

Peter A. Lee, 50, Stockton, Missouri. Cedar County attorney. Pleaded guilty to wire fraud [1].

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Peter A. Lee, 50, Stockton, Mo.	U.S. District Court, W.D. Mo.	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud (announced Feb. 27, 2026); ~$296,140 obtained Jan. 2019–Feb. 2025	[1]

Statuses can change, including through sentencing and appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri, “Cedar County Attorney Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Clients,” Feb. 27, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/cedar-county-attorney-pleads-guilty-defrauding-clients