A Hamilton attorney was found guilty Friday of petty theft and not guilty on 16 money laundering and two felony theft charges.

Jesse Jackson Jr., 48 of Hamilton, was indicted in April on two counts of fourth-degree felony theft, for allegedly stealing $9,163 from his former West Chester Twp. law firm, Caparella-Kraemer & Associates. Jackson was indicted last summer on 16 counts of money laundering, which are third-degree felonies. Those charges surfaced through the investigation of the case.

Jackson’s attorney, Chris Pagan, said Judge Keith Spaeth found his client guilty on the lesser included offense of petty theft, which is a misdemeanor. He sentenced him to three years of community control and ordered a $1,000 fine.

Assistant Prosecutor Dan Ferguson said Jackson was found guilty for one instance where he went to one client’s job and asked him to make out the $500 check to “Jesse Jackson,” which the client did. Ferguson said Jackson should have turned half the money over to his firm and he allegedly did not.

“Obviously the state charged him with more and we thought we had a strong case, but you win some and lose some,” Ferguson said. “It was never that big of a case, what was significant about the case and the reason we worked on it hard and tried to present it well was because when an attorney is involved in conduct they shouldn’t be involved in, we take it seriously.

Pagan said he didn’t want to comment on the case but said he believes his client could face disciplinary measures from the Ohio Supreme Court.

Bradley Kraemer — who worked with Jackson at the law firm — pleaded guilty in 2008 to stealing from his former law firm Lyons & Lyons. He stole $7,500. He was put on probation for three years and ordered to pay restitution. The Ohio Supreme Court suspended Kraemer’s law license for two years, but one year was stayed and he was given a years’ credit for the time he voluntarily stopped practicing law. Kraemer’s license has been reinstated.