Trojan Horse

The Georgia Supreme Court has disbarred an attorney

The facts, as deemed admitted by virtue of Kahn’s default, show that Kahn, who was admitted to the Bar in 2002, began providing legal and financial advice to a client in 2011. He formed Troy Holdings, LLC and encouraged the client to invest money in the company. Between 2012 and 2018, the client delivered over $300,000 to Kahn for investment in Troy Holdings. Kahn misrepresented to the client that she owned 75% of Troy Holdings and that her investment was achieving a 10% rate of return. The client repeatedly asked Kahn for a copy of Troy Holdings’s operating agreement, financial statements, and investment records, but he failed to provide the requested documents; she also asked for a return of her investment, but Kahn has failed to return any money.

Additionally, in Kahn’s representation of the client in tax matters, he represented that he was preparing her tax returns but failed to provide her copies of the returns; he failed to provide  documentation related to his representation of the client in connection with a penalty assessed with regard to her 2013 taxes; and he failed to file her 2015 return after he had prepared it and she had signed it. Finally, although Kahn agreed to prepare a will for the client, he failed to deliver it despite her repeated requests.

These facts show that throughout his representation of the client, Kahn willfully abandoned the legal matters entrusted to him, to the client’s detriment; he failed to keep her reasonably informed about the status of her legal matters; and he collected unreasonable fees, since he did not do the work he was paid to do. With regard to the business transactions, he failed to disclose the terms of the transactions, failed to obtain the client’s written consent to the essential terms of the transactions, and failed to advise her of the desirability of seeking the advice of independent counsel. Additionally, Kahn failed to hold the client’s funds separate from his own, failed to deliver her funds to her, and failed to render a full accounting when she requested one. Finally, Kahn failed to submit a sworn, written response to the Notice of Investigation as required by Bar Rule 4 204.3.

(Mike Frisch)