A Houston lawyer and his former office manager are in hot water after being slapped with federal mail fraud charges. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Clyde J. Moore, 62, and Mark A. Broussard, 63, are accused of conning their own clients out of $2.4 million in settlement funds, the duo faced the music in court yesterday.

The alleged scam, running from 2012 to 2021, involved Moore and Broussard jacking up medical costs and deceiving their injured clientele into thinking they paid out more to providers than was actually the case, the indictment disclosed. The less-than-honest actions led to the clients pocketing less cash than they were due from settlements, while Moore reportedly splurged on luxe sports cars, and Broussard, along with the firm's accomplices, enjoyed their cut of the ill-gotten gains.

Moore, a personal injury attorney known for taking on car accident cases, and Broussard, his one-time office manager, were brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho. They could see up to five years in federal stripes for the conspiracy charge alone, with Moore potentially facing another 20 years for an additional count of mail fraud, each come with a hefty fine of $250,000.

Playing detective, the IRS Criminal Investigation sniffed out the scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Johnson is on the front line, prosecuting the case against the accused Houston attorney and his cohort.