LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha attorney who pleaded guilty last year to helping run a Ponzi scheme has agreed to give up his Nebraska law license.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday accepted the voluntary surrender of Michael Kratville’s law license.

Kratville is one of three people indicted for operating a Ponzi scheme that swindled 100 people out of $4 million. He was found guilty in December of wire fraud. Prosecutors are seeking no more than seven years in prison for Kratville when he’s sentenced in April.

Authorities say Kratville and two other men operated two companies that guaranteed large returns and low risk to investors. Prosecutors say the men actually lost money and fraudulently hid their losses from investors.

YORK, Neb. (AP) — The York County Sheriff’s Department has denied allegations that local jail staffers have been eavesdropping on phone conversations between inmates and their attorneys.

In a warning letter sent Thursday to police, American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska’s legal director Amy Miller says her office has received complaints from attorneys and detainees who are concerned that the department is monitoring their phone conversations. Miller requested that the department review procedures to ensure the staff understands those calls and visits are confidential.

York County Sheriff Dale Radcliff denies that his department has ever listened to exchanges between inmates and attorneys.

The sheriff has turned the letter over to the county attorney’s office.

Two people are in jail and five pounds of meth seized after a search warrant is served at an Omaha home.

The Nebraska State Patrol along with allied agencies in the Omaha metro area served the search warrant around 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 18 at 4513 S. 40^th Street, Omaha. The search led to the seizure of five separate packages containing five pounds of methamphetamine. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of $50,000.

The occupants of the residence, Wendy A Flores, 36, of Tolleson, Arizona and Luis Guillermo Sanchez- Fraijo, 27, of Omaha, were both lodged in the Douglas County Corrections each on a charge of Possession  of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver.

GRAFTON, Neb. (AP) — The Fillmore County sheriff says a 60-year-old Grafton man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in the shooting of his 62-year-old brother.

Sheriff William Burgess says the 60-year-old man was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon, after calling 911 to report the shooting that happened at his home’s driveway in Fillmore County.

Burgess says the brothers had gotten into an argument before the shooting, though it’s unclear what it was about.

Grafton authorities found the suspect’s brother with two gunshot wounds. The 62-year-old was taken to the Fillmore County Hospital and then transferred to a Lincoln hospital.

The sheriff says he was out of surgery Thursday night, but an update on his condition wasn’t immediately available.

An investigation is ongoing.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha real estate agent accused of running a sports bookmaking operation has temporarily lost his real estate license.

The Nebraska Real Estate Commission voted Thursday to suspend the license of 44-year-old Todd Bartusek for 18 months. Bartusek will have 18 months of probation after the suspension. During probation he’ll be allowed to practice real estate as long as he doesn’t commit any more violations.

In February Bartusek was sentenced to three years of criminal probation for federal tax evasion. Prosecutors say an Internal Revenue Service investigation determined that Bartusek worked as a bookie from 2007 through 2010 and didn’t report his income of at least $735,000 from the operation during that time.