COLUMBUS — The sentencing of Mark Thomas that had been set for Friday has been postponed to March 17.

Jennifer Thornton, spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, confirmed the delay in the case against the former attorney who also is a former Belmont County commissioner and who resigned his post as a St. Clairsville councilman upon entering a guilty plea. No reason for the continuance was provided,

In August, Thomas, 62, pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud unrelated to his public service.

The charges stemmed from allegations that he defrauded a client of his former law firm from 2012 through August 2019 while serving as her power of attorney.

The client was 85 years old when the offenses began. Thomas was accused of taking her money without her knowledge or permission and using it for his own benefit.

According to the indictment, Thomas improperly used his power of attorney and status as a lawyer — even though his law license was revoked in 2015 — to convince banks, life insurance companies and other entities to transfer the client’s money for his use.

Thomas faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Restitution of at least $882,502 was included in the plea agreement.

In 2015, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct in Columbus suspended Thomas’ law license in Ohio after he reportedly failed to file an answer to a formal complaint pending before the board.

In 2019 — after his term as a commissioner ended in December of 2018 — Thomas served a sentence of 30 days in jail for contempt of county court for failing to comply with a court order to turn over documents from his private law practice related to his client’s power of attorney. He later complied and a lawsuit related to the case was dismissed.

In 2021, Thomas ran unopposed and was elected 3rd Ward councilman for the city of St. Clairsville. He resigned following his guilty plea.

He will be sentenced by Judge Algenon Marbley of the U.S. District Southern District of Ohio.