HOUSTON -- A local attorney has been arrested and charged with pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients settlements, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Attorney Steven Bearman was arrested at Bush Airport after returning form a trip to Mexico on Saturday.

The District Attorney’s office had been investigating Bearman for months and indicted him earlier in the week. But prosecutors kept the indictment sealed, fearing that if Bearman found out he wouldn’t return from his Puerto Vallarta vacation.

“It's a very big deal. It's lots of money. There are a lot of hurt people out there,” said Lester Blizzard, of the Harris County District Attorney’s office.

Court records showed that at least a dozen of Bearman's clients accuse him of pocketing their lawsuit settlement checks. Blizzard said many of Bearman's clients need that money because of on-going medical treatments for their injuries.

“The idea that he has gone on an apparent vacation to Puerto Vallarta while his victims go without frustrates me to no end,” said Blizzard. “Some of them aren't able to get treated anymore because the payments aren't being made. These people are in dire straights and are desperate for the money.”

Blizzard said Bearman would keep his clients settlement checks while stringing them along by telling them their cases were still tied up in court.

“Some of these cases settled back in 2004, yet the funds had never been dispersed,” said Blizzard.

Bearman was charged with a first-degree felony for allegedly taking the money. He is being held on $750,000 bond -- the exact amount prosecutors said Bearman took from his clients.