No Entitlement

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has accepted the consent disbarment of an attorney convicted in Rhode Island of a number of offenses

The respondent was sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay fines and comply with other conditions. His crimes involved the fraudulent collection of his father’s pension as a police officer in the amount of $63,479.28 after his father and mother had died.

WJAR 10 reported on the charges

Police have charged an attorney of fraudulently collecting pension payments from his deceased father’s account by pretending to be his deceased mother.

According to the Central Falls Police, Attorney Raymond Haskell, Jr. fraudulently collected pension payments since June 2014 until the deception was recently discovered.

In total, the department says Haskell collected $63,479.28.

When the senior Haskell died in 1997, the funds transferred over to the retired officer’s wife Laura Haskell as a “widow’s pension” said the department.

Laura Haskell died in May 2014 and police say that is when the payments should have stopped.

“It’s not going to go to your kids or anything like that because then pensions would never end, so it should have stopped in June 2014,” Det. Jeff Araujo said.

Yet the City of Central Falls says it received a returned pension transition form signed by a Laura Haskell in October 2019.

Police say the investigations led back to Haskell Jr., and on Thursday morning the attorney turned himself in.

“In August they had to get in touch with every pensioner, so every retired and or their spouse, and get all their data updated to move that money over,” Det. Araujo said.

Haskell faces three felony charges including Obtaining Money Under False Pretense, Identity Fraud, and Forgery according to the department. And he also faces one misdemeanor charge of Giving False Documents to Public Official.

Haskell is expected to be arraigned in Providence District Court on Thursday.

Police say he’s an attorney, having spent years in the public defenders office until recently.

A significant show, the police department says, of disrespect.

“To the city and the department,” Det. Araujo said. “And his own family.”

Haskell Jr. was released on his own recognizance with a $10,000 if he were to not show up to his next court date, scheduled in April.

(Mike Frisch)