<p>A former attorney pleaded guilty to being involved in stealing more than $1.4 million from clients in a real estate scheme in which 16 people were indicted.</p><p>Renee Snead, 35, of Macon pleaded guilty Tuesday in Bibb County Superior Court to two counts of felony theft by taking and one count of violation of the states anti-racketeering act. As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop one other anti-racketeering charge.</p><p>Snead said she knew about the scheme but did not get very much money for her part in it. She said Nicole Jones _ a paralegal worker employed by Snead _ was stealing the money out of Sneads business trust account.</p><p>Monies went into the account and didnt go where they were supposed to go, she told Judge L.A. McConnell. Since the account was already short, I just tried to maintain and stay in operation while I figured out what happened to the rest of the money.</p><p>Prosecutors have asked that Snead be sentenced to 20 years in prison with a minimum of six years served and pay $250,000 in restitution whe she is sentenced later this year.</p><p>Snead was one of 16 people _ including a rel estate agent, a mortgage broker, a home appraiser and several buyers _ indicted last year in the scheme.</p><p>The scheme involved sending inflated property appraisals to a lending institution and then keeping any money above the actual sales price.</p><p>Jones and Adrian Appling, a mortgage broker from Byron, pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering. Appling admitted submitting a false real estate contract and false loan package to a lending company, creating a $22,000 profit for the scam participants.</p><p>Several cases are expected to go to trial next month, said assistant district attorney Myra Kline.</p>
