After deliberating for two days, a jury yesterday agreed with the federal government that former state Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce committed insurance fraud.

Mr. Joyce, who chose not to seek retention after his indictment last year, will be sentenced on two counts of mail fraud and eight counts of money laundering on March 10 before Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill.

He will remain free until then.

Defense attorney Philip Friedman said he was "devastated" by the verdict.

"You never know what jurors are going to do," he said. "We have to respect it. We don't have to agree with it."

The jury found that Mr. Joyce, 59, of Erie, did not deserve $440,000 in insurance payouts stemming from an August 2001 slow-speed car crash. Mr. Joyce claimed that he had neck injuries from the accident and that his life had been severely affected.

The trial, which began Oct. 21, was filled with testimony about Mr. Joyce golfing, taking flying lessons and scuba diving after the accident.

But the defense used medical records and a parade of witnesses -- including high-profile state judges -- to argue that Mr. Joyce truly believed he was injured. Among the medical records were those of a neurosurgeon who examined the former judge.

Both sides painted Mr. Joyce as a hypochondriac. At times, he has believed he's had heart attacks, a brain tumor, Lou Gehrig's disease and HIV.

But the government said he couldn't have it both ways. Sure, he went to the doctor many times after the accident, but at the same time, he applied for and received his private pilot's license.

Possibly one of the most compelling arguments was that, on the same day Mr. Joyce took his Federal Aviation Administration physical and filled out a form saying he had no illness or injuries, he went to his doctor and reported he was having tremors and could not grasp a coffee cup.

"How many lies do you have to tell before you're not capable of being believed anymore?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold asked in his closing argument. He described the case as a search for the truth.

"It's about how many different ways a sitting superior court judge can lie," he said.

The judge later granted Mr. Trabold's motion for a preliminary order of forfeiture for the items Mr. Joyce purchased with the settlement. Those included a small airplane and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He also used about $100,000 for a down-payment and closing costs on his home. Defense attorneys said Mr. Joyce already has sold the plane and motorcycle. They plan to appeal the verdict.