Disbarment For Conspiracy To Defraud Client

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has disbarred a convicted attorney effective as of the date of his interim suspension

The Respondent, after a guilty plea, was convicted of violating 18 U.S. C. § 371 (conspiracy). The charge involved conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud related to his misuse of insider information of his client Continental Resources, Inc. He is currently serving a 60-month sentence. The Complainant filed the required Notice of Criminal Conviction with this Court and we ordered the interim suspension of the Respondent’s license to practice law. The Respondent, although notified of these disciplinary proceedings, has not requested a hearing or otherwise responded to these proceedings. The Complainant requested the Respondent be disbarred. We hold the appropriate discipline is disbarment.

The court described the alleged conduct

According to the Superseding Information, the Respondent was hired by a senior landman employed by Continental Resources, Inc. (Continental) to perform oil and gas title work for Continental. The Respondent along with the landman and several others conspired to make copies of Continental’s confidential drilling and leasing plans in exchange for kickback payments to the landman. The information included maps, drilling schedules, and other information detailing what leaseholds Continental planned to acquire and how much Continental was willing to pay for them. With this information, the coconspirators were able to negotiate directly with land and mineral owners to acquire the leases that Continental planned to acquire. Through numerous entities created to avoid detection, the coconspirators purchased and leased the minerals of interest and then re-sold and re-leased those minerals to Continental and other oil and gas companies. The coconspirators exchanged hundreds of text messages detailing their plans to exploit — and their exploitation of — Continental’s confidential information. In addition to re-selling and re-leasing land and minerals to Continental, the coconspirators maintained Overriding Royalty Interests in the leases they acquired with the insider information. The coconspirators also obtained various bank accounts and wired money between them in furtherance of their scheme. The Superseding Information determined these overt acts violated 18 U.S.C. § 371. In the Respondent’s Plea Agreement, entered contemporaneously with the Superseding Information, he agreed to plead guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 371. The Judgment In A Criminal Case adjudicated him guilty of violating only this section of law. The earlier indictments were dismissed.

Sanction

The Respondent’s crime was intimately tied to his role as an attorney. He was hired to perform oil and gas title work for Continental and used this relationship to conspire with an employee of the client to defraud the client. The only distinction between this matter and Shofner is that the Respondent was engaged in fraud at his client’s expense rather than in furtherance of his client’s interest. If anything, it arguably compels an even stronger discipline than that in Shofner if it were possible; disbarment being the strongest discipline. In addition to his conviction, the Respondent’s suspension for failure to pay his 2023 bar dues, his name being stricken from the Roll of Attorneys for his failure to comply with his 2021 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirements, and his failure to respond to these disciplinary proceedings, combine to adversely reflect on his fitness as a lawyer. We hold that disbarment is the discipline that will best serve the welfare of the public and the integrity of the bar.

(Mike Frisch)