Charges Piling up Against Ohio Lawyer Javier Armengau

Additional charges have been filed against a local lawyer accused of gross sexual imposition.

Defense attorney Javier Armengau, 51, was charged with six counts of rape, five counts of sexual battery, three counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of kidnapping and one count of public indecency in an indictment returned Friday by a Franklin County grand jury.

Judge Kimberly Brown set a $25,000 appearance bond for Armengau, which included the initial $10,000 already paid for a previous hearing. The bond was paid Monday night.

Brown also posted a $50,000 recognizance bond for the attorney, which must be paid if he misses a court appearance.

Full Article and Source:
Armengau Denies Sexual Assaults as Charges Added

Illinois Lawyer Faces 3-Year License Suspension

An attorney who questioned the integrity and fairness of four judges should lose his law license for three years and until further court order, a lawyer-discipline panel recommended.

The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board found ‘Lanre O.Amu knowingly made false statements or statements with reckless disregard for the truth.

“Given the respondent’s lack of remorse, failure to understand the wrongfulness of his misconduct and inclination to personalize adverse rulings, we are concerned that he will be unable to conform his future conduct to professional standards,” the hearing board report says.

The ARDC administrator filed a four-count complaint against Amu in December 2011 asserting that he made statements about the integrity of four judges that were false or made with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.

Amu represented clients in two personal-injury cases, a medical-malpractice action and a legal-malpractice lawsuit. Those cases were before then-Cook County Circuit Judges Francis J. Dolan and Thomas R. Chiola, along with Circuit Court Judges Lynn M. Egan and Irwin S. Solganick. 

The four judges all made rulings adverse to Amu’s clients.

Amu asserted that Dolan’s ruling in a personal-injury case barring all the plaintiff’s witnesses was improper and attacked the judge’s integrity and fairness.

 

Amu, who represented himself before the hearing board, testified that he “stands by [his] statements,” and his statements were 100 percent correct, the report says. Amu also called his statements “courageous.”

The ARDC administrator’s office urged that Amu be disbarred. The hearing board disagreed.

“While we recognize respondent’s misconduct is serious and deserving of substantial discipline, we do not believe disbarment, the harshest possible sanction, would better advance the goals of the disciplinary system,” says the hearing board report, which was issued last week.

“We do, however, believe a three-year suspension is necessary to impress upon respondent the wrongfulness of his misconduct and deter future misconduct.”

As for the suspension-until-further-court-order condition, the report says, “We are confident this hurdle is necessary for respondent because he continues to view his conduct as not only acceptable but necessary, lacks remorse and has demonstrated throughout these disciplinary proceedings that he will likely continue to engage in the same course of conduct whenever he believes he has been treated unfairly.”

The hearing board consisted of its chair,  Debra J. Braselton (pictured at left), Andrea D. Rice and Donald D. Torisky, a non-lawyer. In the matter of Lanre O. Amu, No. 2011 PR 00106.

Amu said the ARDC is “abusing its processes” and he plans to file exceptions to the hearing board report with the ARDC Review Board, an appellate tribunal.

“What they have done there is a miscarriage of justice,” he said. “I reject it completely.”

ARDC Deputy Administrator James J. Grogan declined to comment about the hearing board report.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyer Faces 3-Year License Suspension
See Also:
Information regarding ‘Lanre O.Amu

Probate Sharks: Some Thoughts on Illinois Attorney Ken Ditkowsky

Ken Ditkowsky is a modern John Brown who placed his life on the block to fight a “peculiar” institution called slavery.

Ken Ditkowsky is fighting a “peculiar” institution within the probate court system called legalized theft.

The similarities between the two men and their struggles are haunting. Brown’s plan was a statement rather than a plan. Brown fought the might of the United States and the slave state of Virginia with 18 men; Ken Ditkowsky fights the powerful probate court and ARDC with his wits, skill and knowledge.

Even die hard abolitionists felt that Brown rocked the boat…until his off the cuff, spontaneous and eloquent 600 word speech denouncing slavery in the Virginia courtroom after he was sentenced to death.

I have faith that Ken Ditkowsky’s eloquence will be heard and his mission will succeed. *

~ Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

*NASGA wholeheartedly agrees with our Shark collegues!

Source:
Some Thoughts on Ken Ditkowsky

See Also:
Northshore Live:  Interview with Ken Ditkowsky

Colorado: 2 Disbarments, 2 Suspensions in April

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge announced two disbarments, two suspensions and one reinstatement for the month of April.

Judge William Lucero disbarred both David Albert Solomon and Gregg McReynolds for converting client funds. Solomon represented a bank over the course of nine years, during which time he negotiated settlements without his client’s consent and converted client funds by ignoring his obligation to hold in trust those settlement payments. He also failed to keep his clients’ funds separate from his own. Solomon was previously suspended in 2005 for six months for neglecting a client matter and failing to protect his client’s interests.

McReynolds also converted funds he received on behalf of his client for her personal injury case (though he ultimately refunded those funds to her). In a second case, McReynolds settled a matter on his client’s behalf but failed to inform her he’d received the funds.

People v. Solomon. 12PDJ055. February 22. Attorney Regulation. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge disbarred David Albert Solomon (Attorney Registration No. 03176), effective March 29. Solomon, who was retained by a bank to handle collection matters, negotiated settlements without his client’s consent and converted client funds by ignoring his obligation to hold in trust those settlement payments. Solomon also failed to keep funds belonging to his client separate from his own, failed to promptly deliver to his client property it was entitled to receive, failed provide an accounting regarding his interests in the property, and failed to withdraw from the representation. His misconduct constitutes grounds for the imposition of discipline pursuant to C.R.C.P. 251.5 and violated Colo. RPC 1.2(a), 1.15(a), 1.15(b), 1.15(c), 1.16(a)(3), and 8.4(c).

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2 Disbarments, 2 Suspensions in April

Colorado Lawyer Indicted on Charges of Defrauding the IRS

A Denver-area lawyer has been indicted for allegedly defrauding the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver said Monday.

According to the indictment, the lawyer, Eva Melissa Sugar, 59, worked with Financial Fortress Associates, an organization that the government said promoted and advised clients on schemes to avoid the payment of income and other federal taxes.

Sugar, of Aurora, is self-employed and specializes in tax and other legal matters in Denver.

The indictment accuses Sugar and others of conspiring to defraud the United States for “the purpose of impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating” the “lawful functions” of the IRS.

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Denver Area Lawyer Indicted on Charges She Defrauded the IRS

MA Lawyer Admits Facts in Multiple Cases Against Him

A disbarred Edgartown attorney admitted to sufficient facts on several charges last week in Edgartown district court, including identity fraud, credit card fraud and a removed attorney practicing law.

John C. McBride, 64, was facing 18 charges in five different cases for allegedly continuing to provide legal services after being disbarred and taking money from two clients. In one case from March 2011, he allegedly provided legal help for a 21-year-old Oak Bluffs man who believed he was facing criminal charges after a car accident in Rhode Island. The man allegedly paid more than $3,000 to Mr. McBride for legal services and later came to the police after reading about Mr. McBride’s other legal problems.

Police determined that the man was not charged with a criminal offense and said in the report that Mr. McBride “took advantage of a young adult who was under the impression that he was in legal trouble.” Mr. McBride admitted to sufficient facts on a charge of a removed attorney practicing law; the case was continued without a finding for two years and he was ordered to pay $3,325 in restitution. Charges of unauthorized practice of law and larceny more than $250 by single scheme were dismissed.

In another case, Mr. McBride allegedly represented an Edgartown man who was seeking an insurance claim following a bicycle accident. In September 2011, Mr. McBride allegedly accepted a $5,000 settlement check, forged the man’s signature and deposited the check into his own account. Mr. McBride said he did not intend to keep the money in his account and was going to give it to the man, whom he considered a friend. He admitted to sufficient facts on a charge of removed attorney practicing law; the case was continued without a finding for two years. A charge of unauthorized practice of law was dismissed.

He also admitted to sufficient facts on charges of forgery of a check and uttering a promissory note falsely endorsed; the case was continued without a finding for two years. A charge of larceny more than $250 was dismissed.

Mr. McBride also admitted to sufficient facts on four counts of credit card theft under $250 and the matter was continued without a finding for two years. In that case from November 2011, he was charged with fraudulently using a credit card left in an ATM machine. Two charges of forgery of a document and two charges of utter false writing were dismissed upon request of the commonwealth because of a lack of jurisdiction.

Mr. McBride admitted to sufficient facts on two counts of identity fraud from June 2012, also continued without a finding for two years. He was ordered to have an evaluation for and participate in counseling as mandated by probation.

Full Article and Source:
Disbarred Attorney Admits Facts in Multiple Cases Against Him

Texas Lawyer Suspended for Six Months

El Paso attorney Stuart Leeds has been suspended from practicing law for six months, according to an order signed Tuesday.

Visiting Judge Martin Muncy of Andrews, Texas, revoked a six-month probation of Leeds’ license after 409th District Judge Sam Medrano held Leeds in contempt of court earlier this year.

Leeds’ suspension is effective immediately.

He has until June 14 to file an affidavit with the court “stating all current clients and opposing counsel have been notified of (Leeds’) suspension and that all files, papers monies and other property belonging to all current clients have been returned as ordered herein,” Muncy’s order says.

Short of disbarment, suspension is the harshest punishment Texas lawyers can suffer.

Leeds was on probation after the State Bar of Texas’ Commission for Lawyer Discipline filed a case against him over his behavior in a 2011 trial, in which 448th District Judge Regina Arditti was acquitted of bribery.

Full Article and Source:
Attorney Stuart Leeds Suspended From Practicing Law

Attorney Leads Effort to Educate Minnesota About Elder Abuse

A once-small group that Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo started to confront elder abuse is about to unleash an arsenal of resources to help educate Minnesotans about the problem.

With nearly $50,000 in donations, Minnesota SAFE Elders has created a tool kit that includes a video and training materials that it will provide free to interested groups; it is expected out next month.

The group also developed an app for first responders to guide them through such cases and a community resource list they can immediately offer to victims.Another piece of the initiative is a “prosecutor’s trial notebook,” a collection of abuse cases that attorneys can use as a reference when developing their own cases.

A statewide help number and website also will be available.Minnesota SAFE Elders, which grew out of the group that first met in 2011, now includes county attorneys and others from across the state.

The SAFE stands for Stop Abuse and Financial Exploitation.While the topic of crimes and neglect against seniors has been examined by various groups over the years, Palumbo is excited because this program can systemically reach a statewide audience with practical information that will increase awareness while putting more perpetrators in jail.

Full Article and Source:
Anoka County Attorney Leads Effort to Educate Minnesota About Elder Abuse

Disbarred Attorney, Linda Vasquez Littlefield, Now Facing Federal Charges

A Kissimmee attorney who was disbarred for ripping off an elderly couple is now facing federal charges for a similar scheme Tuesday night.

Channel 9’s Jeff Deal spoke with the woman who tipped off authorities about Linda [Vasquez] Littlefield, and asked if there are tougher charges for people who prey on the elderly and take their life’s savings.

Victim Janet Lentz said they took everything.

“I feel used, raped,” Lentz said.

Investigators said the Littlefields ran up Lentz’ credit cards, stealing $53,000.

They were both convicted. Linda is still serving part of a two-year sentence. Ross was sentenced to probation.

Federal investigators said there are now 26 victims — people who put money in a special trust.

They said the Littlefields took nearly $3 million from the trust and spent it on cars, their businesses and property.

Kathleen Foust was Lentz’ guardian, and was the first to report the Littlefields.

“Linda and Ross were criminals, they just legitimized themselves and looked like they were wonderful people,” Foust said.

Since then she’s heard horror stories about how the Littlefields targeted the elderly.

She said one woman spent her life savings setting up a trust for two developmentally-disabled daughters and lost everything.

“She said, ‘Now I don’t know who is going to take care of my daughters when I’m gone,'” Foust said.

Linda and Ross Littlefield were first arrested in 2010. Linda Littlefield was a Kissimmee attorney, and her husband Ross helped her run businesses that appeared to help the elderly.

Full Article and Source:
Investigators: Kissimee Couple Ripped Off Elderly

See Also:
FL: Ex-Lawyer Gets 2 Years Prison For Elder Fraud

Georgia High Court Accepts Voluntary Discipline of Attorney

The Georgia Supreme Court has accepted a petition for voluntary discipline for an Albany attorney, officials said Monday.

Johnnie Mae Graham, who has represented many high-profile clients including former Downtown Manager Don Buie and Municipal Court Judge Willie Weaver, was named in the action made public by the court Monday.

 

The court also recommended a review panel reprimand of Graham.

 

According to court records, Graham admitted that a client hired her to represent him in a civil case against an insurance company and that she miscalculated the statute of limitations regarding her client’s breach-of-contract claim and did not file suit before the claim expired.

 

Ultimately, Graham didn’t file any pleadings in regards to the case and, at the same time, her client filed for bankruptcy protection from the court, and, when the bankruptcy court attempted to contact Graham in regards to the civil suit, court records show that she wasn’t prompt in responding either general inquiries or a subpoena.

 

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Georgia High Court Accepts Voluntary Disciplie of Attorney