A Virginia lawyer who was once gifted $20,000 by Ellen DeGeneres when she was a law student has been accused of proving drugs and having sex with an inmate.
Dana Tapper, 30, has been charged with providing a prisoner with a cell phone, providing a prisoner with drugs, and distribution of a controlled substance.
One source claims Tapper visited the inmate hundreds of times at the Riverside Regional Jail to smuggle drugs and have sex with him in prison.
It has been a drastic fall for Tapper, who was celebrated on 2013 episode of DeGeneres’ talk show when she was a University of Virginia law student.
Virginia lawyer Dana Tapper, who once was gifted $20,000 by Ellen DeGeneres when she was a student, has been accused of proving drugs and having sex with an inmate
DeGeneres had invited Tapper to the show after the University of Virginia student’s friend wrote a letter about her work with troubled low-income children
DeGeneres invited Tapper to the show after the student’s friend wrote a letter about her work with troubled low-income children.
‘Most law students are lured in by promises of large corporate salaries to help pay off their debt,’ the letter, obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, read.
‘But Dana has been steadfast in her commitment to helping those less fortunate.’
During her appearance on the show, Tapper told DeGeneres that she was the first person in her family to go to college.
She also talked of her dreams to help those in the juvenile justice system.
‘The only reason I went to law school was to work with kids,’ she told the host.
DeGeneres then surprised Tapper with a $20,000 gift donated from online photo service Shutterfly.
Tapper, 30, has been charged with providing a prisoner with a cellphone and drugs. She is pictured here receiving a complimentary bar course for her volunteer work
Tapper has a history of visiting inmates dozens of times in prison without being their attorney, including Karon Porter (left) and Damian King (right)
Now Tapper is facing serious charges and a further investigation as it was uncovered she has a history of visiting inmates, even when she isn’t representing them in court.
Tapper has been charged for two incidents in which she allegedly gave an inmate a cell phone on December 7, 2017 and then gave him drugs five days later.
The inmate’s name has not been released and it has not been revealed what drugs she allegedly brought into the prison or how they were smuggled.
Tapper was not an ‘attorney of record’ for the inmate but ‘went to visit him’, according to Prince George Commonwealth’s Attorney Susan Fierro
‘She made an appearance in Chesterfield Circuit Court [for him], and the court asked her if she was the attorney of record,’ Fierro said.
‘She apparently conceded that she was not.’
And records show that Tapper has a history of doing this.
Tapper (pictured on her wedding day) also faces a bar hearing for ‘misconduct’ in June. It remains unclear if she is still married
Tapper visited inmate Karon Porter 38 times at Riverside Regional Jail over a year-and-a-half, according to WTVR.
She also asked to address the court during Porter’s hearing, despite the fact that she was not his attorney, and said she had spent ‘several hundred hours’ on his case.
Porter was later found guilty of leading state police on a 2013 high speed chase. He had crashed into a car and killed a 73-year-old Marine veteran.
Tapper also spoke as a witness on behalf of convicted felon and gang member Damian King, who she also was not representing, during a bond hearing.
King was charged with breaking into a man’s home and shooting him.
Tapper claimed King worked for her at her Richmond law practice and said he was essential into giving her access to clients in the juvenile network.
She told King’s attorney in court that she had no concerns working with King despite the current charges.King was denied bond and pleaded guilty.
Tapper, who will go on trial in August, also faces a bar hearing for ‘misconduct’ in June. She remains an attorney in good standing with an active law license.