When Assistant Kanawha County prosecutor Fred Giggenbach joined Twitter earlier this month, the first person to follow him was a Charleston lawyer charged with fraud, who prosecutors have been trying to locate for more than a year.
Lawyer William Lester faces charges of fraudulent schemes and computer fraud.
Lester is believed to be in Central America. The expense to possibly extradite Lester internationally is not a deterrent to prosecutors, said assistant Kanawha prosecutor Rob Schulenberg.
Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller made the call last year to expand extradition orders internationally, Schulenberg said. Kanawha prosecutors are working with the U.S. Marshal Service.
While serving as a court appointed criminal defense lawyer around 2014, Lester allegedly billed the state for thousands of dollars worth of work that he never did, according to prosecutors.
Over a two year period, Lester allegedly billed the state more than $600,000 for court-appointed work. At times, Lester's invoice showed him working more than 24 hours in a day, prosecutors claim.
Lester didn't show up last summer when he was scheduled to be arraigned in front of Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom. At the time, Lester was believed to be in Costa Rica, prosecutors said.
On May 5, shortly after following Giggenbach on Twitter, Lester tweeted directly to Giggenbach, writing "My Man Fred! Welcome to Twitter. Send my Best to All!"
Giggenbach and Lester had cases together prior to the filing of the criminal charges against Lester, the prosecutor said.
"Every time I saw him he'd say the same thing, 'My man, Fred,' " Giggenbach recalled.
Prosecutors are aware Lester has internet access, wherever he may be, Schulenberg said. The prosecutor blamed that on why he wouldn't reveal many details about his efforts to locate Lester.
"He could read it. I don't want to let him know what I'm doing," Schulenberg said.
During a hearing in April, Bloom ordered the warrant for Lester's arrest to remain active and applauded Schulenberg's efforts to track Lester down, according to Giggenbach.
"Maybe we can tweet him a plea deal," Giggenbach joked.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.