A censure from the New Jersey Supreme Court for conduct described in the report of the Disciplinary Review Board

Respondent stipulated to having used persona! financial information of a former client/family member to open two credit card accounts in respondent’s own name, without authority to do so…

In 2006, respondent found himself in deep financial trouble and used [father-in-law] Lonero’s personal identifier information, obtained during the former representation, to open two credit card accounts. Specifically, on March 8, 2006, respondent opened a Chase credit card account using his own name and address, but Lonero’s social security number. Respondent did so without Lonero’s knowledge or authorization.

He charged $30,000 to his father-in-law, who was notified when payments were not made. It was not reported to the bar until the attorney’s divorce  years later.

While the normative sanction is suspension

We consider respondent’s conduct different from the above attorneys in several respects. First, respondent was not criminally charged. Rather, his conduct came to the attention of the disciplinary authorities almost ten years after the fact and only while respondent and his wife were in the process of divorce. Before then, it had been considered and treated as a “family matter,” with the parties having been satisfied by the payment of the outstanding balances.

The board also found substantial mitigation. (Mike Frisch)