Disbarred Coralville lawyer on FBI’s “most wanted” list arrested in Colorado

A disbarred Coralville lawyer, who was on FBI's 'most wanted” list since 2010 after being charged with mail fraud and filing false tax returns, was nabbed in Colorado last week and will be brought back to Davenport federal court, according to court documents.

Dennis A. Bjorklund, 50, of Coralville, was arrested in Colorado and made his initial appearance April 16 in U.S. District Court in Denver. He waived his right to a preliminary or detention hearing in the Colorado federal court but reserved his right to have a detention hearing in Iowa.

According to court documents, Bjorklund will be brought back to U.S. District Court for the Southern District by U.S. Marshals. No hearing has been set in the Davenport court at this time.

Bjorklund hadn't been seen at his Coralville address since he was indicted in July 2010 and a warrant was issued for his arrest in April 2010. The FBI went public with information about him in 2013, asking for the public's help. He was then included on the FBI's most wanted list of white collar crimes.

Bjorklund, who lost his law license in 2006 for an ethics violation, was indicted 2010 on 11 counts of mail fraud and three counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, according to the superseding indictment.

Bjorklund, as a criminal defense attorney, would encourage potential clients charged with drunken driving to make a voluntary charitable contribution to obtain a more 'favorable resolution,” between Aug. 1, 2005 through Aug. 31, 2006 according to the indictment. The specific charity recommended was 'Re-Adapt.”

Bjorklund on Sept. 2005 started an alleged non-profit organization, 'Rehabiliative Enterprises for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Training, also called Re-Adapt, according to the indictment.

As part of the scheme, another person, 'S.N.,” opened a post office box in Coralville under the name Re-Adapt and Bjorklund had another person, J.K., to open a bank account in Wisconsin under the same name with the post office address. Money orders, cashier's checks and personal checks were mailed to the post office box in Coralville and then later deposited in the Wisconsin account.

Checks were written and drawn on the Re-Adapt bank account and payable to entities owned and controlled by Bjorklund, including Bjorklund Law Firm, according to the indictment.

The false tax returns filed in 2003 for total income of $16,876 and in 2005 for $19,182. He also reported a total income loss in 2006 for $15,440. Bjorklund failed to report rental income received from the McKinley Building during those years, according to the indictment.

Bjorklund opened his Coralville law office in 1993 and closed it in 2006 when he the Iowa Supreme Court disbarred him in 2006 for ethics violations, including giving false testimony in a hearing and he refused to refund clients fees for legal work he never did.