Indefinite Suspension For Addicted Lawyer’s Guardianship Thefts
Dan Trevas has a summary of a recent bar discipline case on the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court
The Court first suspended Thomas’ license in July 2014 when he was convicted of two counts of theft and one count of theft from the elderly, which were felonies he committed while serving as a court-appointed guardian. He also was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of falsification.
Thomas, who served as the guardian for four individuals, pleaded no contest to the theft of thousands of dollars from them and for attempting to conceal the thefts by filing false inventories with the Preble County Probate Court. He was sentenced to 4½ years in prison and ordered to make $208,095 in restitution, the largest award being $115,112 to one of the clients.
Based on the crime, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel charged Thomas with multiple violations of the rules governing attorneys, and the Board of Professional Conduct conducted hearings based on the claims. The board found Thomas, who was first admitted to practice in 2001, violated several rules including the prohibition of a lawyer committing illegal acts; engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; knowingly making a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal; and knowingly offering evidence that the lawyer knows to be false.
In considering the sanctions, the board found Thomas acted with a dishonest or selfish motive by using the money he misappropriated from his clients to maintain an addiction to ephedrine and to compensate for the loss of legal practice income as a result of his addiction. The board also noted that he engaged in stealing client money and trying to conceal it with false filings for more than six years.
The board learned that one client owed more than $115,000 settled for $89,000 paid by Thomas’ professional-liability insurer and that Thomas’ father agreed to pay the other clients up to $18,000 over the next two years. In its unanimous per curiam opinion, the Court noted that Thomas owes those other clients more than $90,000, and that he has made no effort to compensate the victims.
The Court imposed the indefinite suspension with six conditions that Thomas would have to meet to be considered for reinstatement that include: completing his incarceration; paying full restitution to all clients; complying with the terms of his probation; completing an Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program (OLAP) substance-abuse program and addiction-treatment program; signing an OLAP recovery contract for a term determined by OLAP; and being in full compliance with all treatment recommendations.
The court’s opinion is linked here. (Mike Frisch)