Ex-U.S. Prosecutor Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Conflict of Interest

A former assistant U.S. attorney who admitted making illegal business transactions while serving in the federal post is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 8, a judge said Monday.

Andrew Pitt, who signed a plea agreement several weeks ago, formally pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a conflict of interest. Justice Department lawyers charged Pitt with receiving money from individuals who were the subjects of federal investigations.

Pitt, who faces between 24 and 30 months in prison, recently resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office.

According to the plea agreement, Pitt took $33,000 from an illegal stock transaction he was investigating. In separate cases, he also accepted $98,000 from one informant and $35,000 from another. Pitt recommended probation for one of the informants rather than prison time, and asked for postponement of a prison reporting date for the other informant.