Florida Sanctions
Bar discipline decisions posted on the web page of the Florida Bar
Joseph Lester Boles, Jr., 19 Riberia St., St. Augustine, disciplinary revocation with leave to apply for readmission in five years effective 30 days following a May 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) Boles engaged in a course of conduct in which he would provide a free will to persons over the age of 65 and draft the documents, naming himself as the personal representative or successor trustee to potentially receive fees as part of the estate or trust. Boles also failed to follow the instructions of several testamentary documents while serving as the trustee and sold a decedent’s home to his daughter allegedly for lower than fair market value. (Case No. SC24-0586)
Erik Russel Fenniman, P.O. Box 1634, Tallahassee, suspended for 90 days and ordered to attend ethics school and professionalism workshop effective 30 days following a June 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) During his tenure as general counsel for the Florida Department of Transportation, Fenniman signed the names of two of his subordinate employees to official agency letters without their knowledge or consent. One of the employees had already terminated her employment with FDOT several weeks prior to this occurrence. (Case No. SC24-0155)
Jaquetta Johnson, 1700 N. Monroe St., #11-224, Tallahassee, public reprimand and trust account workshop, effective June 30, one month after a May 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2014) Complainant hired Florida Community Law Center (FCLC) to collect debts owed by debtors. Johnson was the only attorney engaged to provide legal services. Complainant forwarded several debt collection files between January 2020 and November 2020 for a flat fee of $1,650 for each debt collection matter that was resolved prior to litigation and costs. When Johnson received funds on behalf of complainant from debtors, per the retainer agreement, FCLC’s fees were taken out and any remaining balance was sent to complainant. During the representation, complainant and respondent were in dispute about what fees and costs were due and owing. On October 27, 2020, Johnson sent complainant a check in the amount of $2,681, for funds obtained on his behalf. The check bounced due to insufficient funds. FCLC was dissolved in April 2022. FCLC did not have an IOTA trust account registered with The Florida Bar Foundation. As a result, attorneys fees and client funds were commingled. (Case No. SC24-0734)
Guichard St. Surin, 1919 Courtney Dr., Suite 16, Ft. Myers disciplinary revocation with leave to apply for readmission in five years effective 30 days following a May 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2011) In three pending cases, St. Surin was alleged to have engaged in inappropriate, unwanted sexual behavior and harassment with four employees and a client, failed to diligently and competently pursue a family law matter, and self-reported that he had been charged with felony battery which remained pending. St. Surin pled no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge regarding contact with the client. The pending felony charge concerned allegations St. Surin engaged in inappropriate, unwanted sexual behavior with a prospective client. (Case No. SC24-0463)
WINK News reported on the above allegations
A Fort Myers attorney is accused of raping an employee and asking clients to trade sex for legal fees, according to a federal lawsuit, in addition to a long list of other graphic sexual behavior.
Four women who used to work for Guichard St. Surin at The Guardian Law Firm have sued him for battery, sexual assault, emotional distress, forcible confinement and unpaid wages. The damages add up to nearly $5 million combined.
Bonita Springs labor and employment lawyer Benjamin Yormak is representing the ex-employees. He says that St. Surin preyed on women he deemed to be vulnerable.
“It’s our position that Mr. St. Surin selected these particular employees based upon difficult financial state that they were in, meaning they needed the job. He knew they couldn’t go anywhere,” Yormak said. “And also, he had them undergo psychological tests, personality testing. So he knew which folks were going to be vulnerable and which ones weren’t.”
In the complaint, one former employee says St. Surin raped her twice. The first time was on a business trip with St. Surin, which she only attended because she was “desperate for the job and income.” The second time was at his office. That same employee says he “showed [her] a gun he kept in his office while making it clear to [her] that it was in her best interest to have sexual relations with him.”
“The mental effect that it’s had on my clients has been absolutely devastating,” Yormak said. “What happened to these four ladies should never happen in any workplace ever.”
Yormak said while the women worked as paralegals at The Guardian Law Firm between June 2016 and April 2018, each of them suffered from “gross and continuing sexual harassment.”
One woman alleges St. Surin “locked her in his office” and “refused to let her leave unless she acquiesced to his sexual demands.”
“This isn’t like a car accident where you immediately report it. There’s no shame in having a car accident,” Yormak said. “When these kinds of things happen, the devastating impact psychologically is often crippling. And my clients are absolutely no exception to that.”
The suit also claims St. Surin took advantage of more than just employees, alleging that he would solicit sexual favors from clients who could not afford attorney’s fees. In a 2018 incident report obtained by WINK News, one client reported to police that St. Surin “grabbed her rear end” and “grabbed her breast” after asking her for sex as a form of payment.
Court documents show St. Surin eventually pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and served six months probation.
St. Surin is still a “member in good standing” according to the Florida Bar. He did not respond to WINK News’ multiple requests for an interview.
On his website, St. Surin promises to “make his clients feel cared for, unlike anywhere else.” It also features several bible verses and the slogan “Serving the One.”
Yormak says he hopes this case sends an important message.
“Coming together and banding together, it speaks to the Me Too movement and the power of it,” Yormak said. “That getting together is the right thing to do, to make things right, to get equality, and to make sure that predators don’t rule the workplace.”
Yormak said he is not pursuing a criminal case, rather he is hoping for civil justice for St. Surin’s former employees. He said the women have been interviewed by the Florida Bar as it conducts an investigation into St. Surin.
David W. Veliz, 630 N. Wymore Rd., Suite 330, Maitland, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days following a June 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) Veliz prepared a will and other estate planning documents for a longtime family friend. The will impermissibly named Veliz’s mother and sister as beneficiaries and named his mother as the personal representative for the estate. Veliz failed to recognize that he was prohibited from creating a will for a non-related client naming his relatives as beneficiaries. After the death of the family friend, Veliz’s law partner was hired by Veliz’s mother to represent her in probating the estate. Veliz’s mother received her personal representative fee even though Veliz failed to comply with a statute regarding the disclosure of compensation for the personal representative. Ultimately, Veliz’s mother and sister were removed as beneficiaries and his mother refunded her personal representative fee to the estate. (Case No. SC23-1705)
(Mike Frisch)