A reciprocal three-year suspension was imposed in Massachusetts based on a sanction of disbarment imposed in Connecticut
On August 5, 2014, the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford issued an order disbarring the respondent from the practice of law in Connecticut. The Connecticut court’s order was based on findings that the respondent falsely informed his clients that an expert hired by the clients on the respondent’s recommendation was affiliated with national intelligence agencies and had used part of the fees paid by the client to bribe a federal postal inspector; falsely informed a Connecticut Superior Court and the Statewide Grievance Committee that the expert was a covert federal operative; and attempted to cause the expert to testify in a manner contrary to the truth. The Court found that the respondent violated the Connecticut equivalents of Mass. R. Prof. C. 3.3(a)(1) and (3), 3.4(b) and 8.4(c) and (d).
The Connecticut order described the misconduct
On or about June 17, 2011 a meeting took place between Oliver and [client] Zaczynski at a McDonald’s restaurant. The meeting place was chosen by Oliver. Zaczynski thought the meeting place odd and brought a recording device in order to record the conversation between them. While the recording is of poor quality, it is clear that Zaczynski was complaining about amount of the bills which both Oliver and [purported expert] Michaud had been submitting.
During this meeting, Oliver apparently produced a copy of a book written by the popular author Robert Ludlum and he asked Zaczynski to review a particular chapter or section in which he claimed he was mentioned. At or around the same time during this meeting, Michaud called Oliver on his cellphone and spoke directly to Zaczynski. After her call, in a curiously surreptitious tone, Oliver explained to Zaczynski that Michaud was affiliated with several national intelligence agencies. He suggested that Michaud had been able to convince the federal authorities to ” stand down” and ultimately indicated that there was a postal inspector named ” Vega” who demanded a bribe in order to cease an investigation into Zaczynski, Tyler, and New England Pellets. Oliver told Zaczynski that part of the money which he had paid as legal fees had been used to pay off Vega. He suggested that Michaud’s influence was being used to Zaczynski’s advantage and further that she had prevented the pending investigation from spreading into activities of the company in New Jersey. Oliver emphasized the need to keep Michaud as a consultant and the importance of resolving the fee dispute with her.
From the Hartford Courant is this report
A Hartford attorney and an accountant who allegedly claimed to be a doctor are accused of scheming to defraud clients the lawyer represented in a federal lawsuit.
Attorney James Oliver and Cynthia Michaud were arrested by Simsbury police in late June. Oliver is charged with third-degree larceny and accessory to third-degree larceny. Michaud is charged with third-degree larceny, second-degree false statement and unauthorized use of the title doctor.
They were arraigned Thursday in Superior Court in Enfield, although they did not appear publicly before the judge. Their cases were continued to Aug. 7. Both are free after posting $10,000 bail.According to warrants for Oliver and Michaud’s arrest, Michaud falsely claimed in a variety of documents to be a doctor, a certified internal auditor and a certified forensic examiner. Oliver encouraged his clients to hire her, even though he knew she was lying about her qualifications, the warrant states.
Michaud said the allegations against her are untrue. Oliver and his attorney declined to comment on the case.
Stephen Zacynski and Jason Tynan, owners of New England Pellet LLC, told police that Oliver and Michaud misrepresented Michaud’s education and qualifications to bill them for services that were not performed.
Although Zacynski and Tynan claimed that they were defrauded of more than $340,000, police charged Michaud only for misrepresenting herself as a doctor and billing $2,550 for “medical damages analysis.” No other details about the medical services are explained in the warrant.
Michaud admitted to a Simsbury detective that she was not a doctor and had never been to medical school, the warrant states. She said claiming she was a certified auditor and forensic examiner would lend more credibility to her business, CJM Associates, and would make the forensic investigative side of the business more plausible, the warrant states.
Zaczynski told police that Michaud’s credentials came into question during the civil case. She was called to provide a deposition attesting to her education and expertise, but Oliver kept him from attending the deposition, he told police.
Zaczynski said he learned from a transcript of the deposition that Michaud was not a doctor and did not have the certifications in accounting that she claimed to have, the warrant states.
Oliver was aware that Michaud’s credentials were false because he represented her in April 2009 when she was terminated from an accounting firm for lying about her credentials in a job application, the warrant states.
New England Pellet was sued in federal court by its supplier, New England Wood Pellet of New Hampshire. The lawsuit claims New England Wood Pellet was not paid for nearly $400,000 in wood pellets it delivered to New England Pellet.
The same lawsuit also accuses New England Pellet of pre-selling a substantial amount of pellets to customers but failing to deliver. The case is has not been resolved.
New England Pellet also got into trouble with state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the state consumer protection commissioner after people who had paid New England Pellet in advance said they did not get the pellets they ordered. That case was settled in 2010 when New England Pellet agreed to pay at least $55,000 in restitution to 250 customers.(Mike Frisch)