Gambling Man Disbarred

From the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court (per Kathleen Maloney)

Stephen  L. Becker of Lima was disbarred by the court for misappropriating funds  entrusted to him as guardian for his nephew, caretaker for his aunt, and  executor of his aunt’s estate following her death, as well as in several other  client matters. Becker’s misconduct primarily fueled a gambling addiction, the  court stated in its decision.

In  1983, Becker was appointed as guardian of the estate of his nephew, who was  then a minor and suffers from severe developmental disabilities. Becker made  various “loans” from the guardian account to friends, his daughter, and  himself. The loans were not disclosed, as required, to the probate court.

Becker  also cared for an elderly aunt for more than 20 years. He was named her power  of attorney, and they shared a joint bank account. In July and August 2005,  Becker wrote $37,000 in checks to four casinos. Between October and December,  he withdrew $9,500 in cash from the account, wrote three checks to casinos  totaling $22,000, and took $25,000 from the account to repay money he had  improperly taken from his nephew. The court noted other misappropriations in  2007, 2008, and 2010.

After  his aunt died, Becker, as executor of her estate, also inappropriately used  funds and intentionally filed false and misleading reports about how the money  was used and distributed to his aunt’s beneficiaries.

In the  court’s unanimous decision, Justice Paul E. Pfeifer wrote that it is clear  Becker has a gambling addiction given the substantial amount of money he paid  to casinos from these accounts. While a gambling problem could be mitigating in some cases, Justice  Pfeifer noted that “Becker’s failure to pursue any kind of consistent help for  his problem eliminates this factor as possible mitigation.”

He  concluded, “[W]e have consistently stated that ‘the primary purpose of the  disciplinary process is not to punish the offender but to protect the public  from lawyers who are unworthy of the trust and confidence essential to the  attorney-client relationship.’ … In this case, it is obvious that an extreme sanction  is necessary to protect the public. … Given the extent and duration of the  various misappropriations and the helplessness of some of the victims  (including a disabled nephew and an elderly aunt), we are confident that  disbarment is the appropriate sanction.”

2013-1257. Disciplinary  Counsel v. Becker, Slip  Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-3665.

(Mike Frisch)