Stealing From Elderly Client Draws Appropriate Sanction

An attorney who had obtained power of attorney from an elderly client was disbarred by the Maryland Court of Appeals for misappropriation and deceit.

The attorney was added to a joint bank account that had over $14,000 on balance. Approximately $3,000 was deposited per month. The client had lived on the $3,000 and never made cash withdrawals or used a check card.

The attorney began to make cash withdrawals and used a check card so that in three months the balance of the joint account stood at $2.92.

After the client sold her home for over $245,000, the proceeds were deposited into the joint account. The attorney used the proceeds to pay his bills and to purchase clothes, meals and alcohol.

He also treated himself to Miami, Las Vegas and Hawaii trips on the client’s tab.

The client had a stroke in 2011 and required assisted care until her death in 2012. By then, her funds were exhausted.

The attorney wrote checks to cover her funeral expenses and burial. The checks bounced.

He made false representations concerning his services to a lawyer hired to close the client’s estate. He also lied to Bar Counsel.

There were no mitigating circumstances.

Indeed, it would be difficult to imagine any mitigation that would make a lesser sanction appropriate.

Nothing degrades the legal profession more than thefts from a vulnerable and trusting client. The Maryland Client Protection Fund will likely come nowhere near making this estate whole. (Mike Frisch)