Prosecutors say that by February 2001, Wallace--who had filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and would do so again later that year--had already spent most of Howard Byrdsong's insurance money.
Byrdsong complained to prosecutors, who opened an investigation.
In May 2001, Wallace tried to strike a deal with Byrdsong, 20, and his younger brother, Jontrae, 18, according to prosecutors.
An emissary allegedly sent by Wallace met with them first. He offered to pay the Byrdsongs $125,000, plus $143,000 if Howard Byrdsong withdrew his allegations, according to the criminal complaint. About a week later, Wallace herself urged them to take the deal, prosecutors allege.
On May 7, Marina del Rey resident Timothy Mack, allegedly posing as a bank representative, urged Howard Byrdsong to sign a $125,000 settlement that would release Wallace from all liability, prosecutors said.
Byrdsong rejected the offer. A month later, on June 6, 2001, the Byrdsong brothers were fatally shot in a home in Inglewood by a man dressed as a postal worker.
Wallace has been free on $150,000 bond since her arrest in February on charges of forgery, perjury and embezzlement from the Byrdsong estate. She pleaded not guilty.
Wallace has denied any financial wrongdoing or any role in the slayings, although Inglewood police say she remains a suspect in the deaths.
"I loved the boys," she said outside a Los Angeles courtroom earlier this year.
Her attorney, Milton Grimes, said his client is innocent of all charges. He said the Byrdsongs owed Wallace $111,000 for money the family borrowed. Wallace, he said, was willing to pay them the difference of about $268,000.
Mack, who has pleaded not guilty to grand theft and perjury in the case, denied in a jailhouse interview that he told the Byrdsongs he worked for a bank. He said he merely dropped off documents at Wallace's request, and that he received no money from the Byrdsong trust account.
"I don't understand why they arrested me," said Mack, 46. "They have nothing on me."
Mack, who has been held in the Men's Central Jail since his Feb. 5 arrest, faces up to six years in prison if convicted.
Leah Wallace said her family stands by her younger sister. She said she believes Angela Wallace will be exonerated and referred questions about the criminal case to Grimes.
"This is a woman with an awesome heart, and she is very, very kind," Leah Wallace said. "Her whole life as an attorney has been helping people to the detriment of herself."
Wallace surrendered her license to practice law in May 2001, amid more allegations of misconduct, including misappropriation of client funds and failure to notify clients of her suspension. Some $28,000 in restitution was paid to eight of her victims last year through the state bar's client security fund.
Wallace, who faces trial later this year, still has some prominent supporters. One is L.A. City Councilman Nate Holden, who has known Wallace since she was an undergraduate at UCLA.
"She's super smart, super hard-working. She could run for president," Holden said. "It would be a damn shame for her to come this far and stumble and fall."
