COLUMBUS — A federal judge on Thursday scheduled the trial of Mark Thomas, who is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from a client of his former law firm.

The St. Clairsville 3rd Ward councilman-elect is a former attorney and a past Belmont County commissioner.

He is charged with four counts of felony mail fraud, based on allegations that he abused his status as power of attorney for an elderly client with dementia and stole money from her.

If convicted on all charges, he faces 20 years in prison.

During a telephone conference Thursday, Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio scheduled Thomas’ trial for July 11.

Thomas was represented by attorney Andy Avellano. According to court documents, the government had moved for a Faretta hearing, which occurs in cases in which a defendant wishes to serve as their own legal representation. According to Marbley’s office staff, the hearing was held earlier and the judge ruled against self-representation.

David Twombly with the Columbus-based U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting.

Avellano said he has not completed reviewing the discovery and requested eight months to prepare for trial.

“There’s several gigabytes of data that needs to be reviewed and the case will probably be considered complex, due to the nature of the allegations of financial fraud,” Avellano said. “We’d probably be moving the court for an expert to review the financial documents. It’s not an area that I’m well-versed in, so I’d need assistance there.”

Marbley said he expects the trial to last a month. He asked Avellano to submit his requests for assistance before the close of the year.

“I don’t anticipate entertaining favorably any further continuances,” Marbley said. “The eight-month period is more than I would otherwise give, but in an abundance of caution I am giving you what you have requested.”

Thomas, 61, was indicted in early October by a federal grand jury.

According to the indictment, Thomas is accused of defrauding a client from 2012 through August 2019 while serving as her power of attorney. It is alleged that Thomas took the victim’s money without her knowledge or permission to use for his own benefit.

The woman was 85 years old at the time the alleged crimes began. The indictment states that Thomas improperly used the victim’s power of attorney and his status as a lawyer — even after his law license was revoked in 2015 — to convince various entities, including banks and life insurance companies, to transfer the victim’s money for his use.

In 2019, after concluding his term as a county commissioner at the end of 2018, Thomas served 30 days in jail for contempt of a county court for failing to comply with a court order to turn over documents from his private law practice related to an elderly client’s power of attorney. He later complied with the records request. A lawsuit related to that case was dismissed.

Neither the fraud charges nor the contempt charge had any connection to Thomas’ role as an elected official.

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct in Columbus suspended Thomas’ law license in Ohio in 2015 after he reportedly failed to file an answer to a formal complaint pending before the board. His law license remains suspended in Ohio and West Virginia.

This past Election Day on Nov. 2, Thomas was elected 3rd Ward councilman for the city of St. Clairsville. City Law Director Elizabeth Glick has said Thomas is considered innocent until proven guilty.

Should he be found guilty, the city charter — under Article III Council, Section 4. Vacancy-Creation of. — states that “Once elected and sworn in, a member of Council shall vacate his office … By conviction while in office of a crime involving moral turpitude. …”

Thomas did not respond Thursday to calls seeking comment.