The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 26 attorneys; disbarring four, suspending 17 and publicly reprimanding five. Four attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Two were placed on probation and two were ordered to pay restitution.
• Rashmi Airan-Pace, South Miami, suspended until further order. In December 2014, Airan-Pace pleaded guilty to the felony charge of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States –bank fraud. Her role in the conspiracy included making material misrepresentations on real estate closing documents and facilitating the transfer of funds through accounts under her control, knowing that funds being paid to buyers were not being disclosed on the HUD settlement statements, nor to the mortgage lenders.
• Carole Suzanne Bess, Merritt Island, suspended for 90 days. Further, upon reinstatement, Bass is placed on probation for two years. Between 2012 and 2013, Bess failed to maintain the minimum required trust accounting records and failed to follow the minimum required trust accounting procedures. Bar audit revealed ongoing shortages in the trust account. Bess also failed to properly supervise her non-lawyer employees.
• Michael Darren Bon, Coral Gables, disbarred. Further, Bon shall pay restitution of $20,262 to his former law firm. An investigation revealed 86 billing irregularities in cases handled by Bon in 2008-2009. Bon often charged excessive fees and submitted fraudulent bills to his law firm and clients. He also submitted reimbursement requests for travel or expenses for events that did not occur and billed for hours he did not work.
• Jason Bravo, Coral Gables, to be publicly reprimanded and further placed on probation for two years. A Bar audit revealed that Bravo was not in compliance with rules regulating trust accounts. Despite being given several opportunities, Bravo could not produce requested documents, including a cash receipts and disbursements journal, client ledger cards and monthly reconciliations of the trust account. He admitted to routinely commingling his own earned fees with client funds in the trust account.
• Joel Micah Bresler, Lakeland, suspended for 91 days. Bresler was a witness in the federal prosecution of his former employer, who was charged with fraud and conspiracy. He was given immunity from prosecution in return for testimony. Bresler assisted the defendant in drafting a false promissory note, he destroyed his own bank records at the direction of the defendant and he exaggerated to law enforcement the extent of the attorney/client relationship between himself and the defendant.
• Richard Lee Buckle, Bradenton, suspended for three years. Buckle sought to have a judge removed from his case by filing a frivolous motion for appointment of a new judge on the eve of his trial. He impugned the judge’s qualifications and integrity, and in his motion, knowingly disparaged the judge based on ethnicity, gender, religion, marital status and perceived sexual orientation.
• J. Patrick Buckley, Fort Myers, suspended until further order. Buckley was first placed on emergency suspension on Jan. 5. There was clear and convincing evidence that he appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds to be held in trust. This time, Buckley was found in contempt for non-compliance and failure to respond to an official Bar inquiry. He also failed to comply with a trust account subpoena.
• Christopher Lee Buttermore, Coral Springs, suspended for 45 days. In several instances, Buttermore was retained by clients, accepted fees and failed to take significant action on their cases. He also failed and refused to properly communicate with his clients regarding these matters.
• Andre Keith Roger Charbonneau, Sarasota, suspended for 90 days. Charbonneau received money from his aunt to purchase a home. When filling out the loan application, he indicated that the money was a gift from his aunt, who also signed a gift letter. After closing on the house, Charbonneau signed a note indicating the money was a loan, as his family now indicated he needed to repay the monies. Charbonneau never took steps to notify the lender of the change. Later, Charbonneau filed for bankruptcy and did not list his aunt as a creditor. Charbonneau subsequently revised the bankruptcy petition to correctly include his aunt.
• Charles William Cherry II, Plantation, suspended for three years. A trial jury returned a verdict against Cherry, his brother Glenn and a company they created. The two were shareholders in defendant Tama Broadcasting Inc. They also formed Group Assets, a Florida limited liability company that leased property for certain radio stations and studios owned by Tama. The jury found that Cherry failed to inform Tama and the board of directors about the transfer of property from Tama to Group Assets. He breached his fiduciary duty as a board member and legal counsel, violated The Florida Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct and committed professional negligence, causing damages of more than $665,000 to Tama.
• Thomas Francis diLustro, disbarred. DiLustro was also a member of the Tennessee Bar Association. In March 2014, The Florida Bar received a final order from the Supreme Court of Tennessee, indicating that diLustro had been disbarred for a myriad of violations, including: failure to diligently represent his clients, failure to keep his clients reasonably informed about the status of their cases and failure to promptly respond to requests for information. diLustro forged a client’s signature on a document submitted to the court for approval; falsely testified regarding the signature; and failed to act promptly to correct an erroneous child support order. diLustro also failed to notify The Florida Bar that he had been disbarred and he failed to file a copy of the disbarment order with the Florida Supreme Court.
• Gayle Patricia Ellsworth, Warwick, R.I., disbarred. Ellsworth was found in contempt for failing to comply with the terms of a July 9, 2014, suspension order. Specifically, Ellsworth was required to submit to The Florida Bar a sworn affidavit listing the names and addresses of all persons/entities that received a copy of her suspension order.
• Daniel Gary Gass, Fort Lauderdale, suspended for one year. Gass was hired by a married couple to handle several legal issues pending against them. The most significant was a civil case in circuit court that was related to an outstanding debt the clients and their company owed to a third party. Gass failed to diligently act on behalf of his clients and keep them informed as to the status of their case. As a result of of his misconduct, the couple was held in contempt of court and briefly incarcerated.
• Burton J. Green, Cocoa Beach, suspended for one year. Green was hired in December 2009 to represent a woman who was injured in a slip and fall at a restaurant. He notified her in December 2013 that he had failed to file the lawsuit and the statute of limitations had expired. The client had no recourse because Green had no malpractice insurance. In February 2014, the Bar received notice from a bank of two overdrafts in Green’s trust account. Records provided by Green revealed that he was not in substantial compliance with trust account rules.
• Tara Renee James, North Miami Beach, disbarred. James obstructed the administration of justice when she advised a vulnerable client to conceal her identity and hide her baby from the court in order to circumvent a pickup order issued by the judge. Neither James nor her client appeared at a November 2012 court hearing. On two occasions, James requested additional time from The Florida Bar to respond in writing to a grievance. Even after more time was granted, she did not respond.
• Jonathan Douglas Lack, Indialantic, to be publicly reprimanded. Further, Lack shall attend ethics school. Lack failed to adequately supervise non-attorney personnel in his Broward office that handled loan modification and foreclosure defense matters. Lack also failed to adequately communicate with clients in that office regarding the status of their cases. He previously paid restitution to the clients.
• Kenneth Lewis LaVan, Plantation, to be publicly reprimanded. LaVan is one of two managing partners at a law firm that practices Social Security and veterans’ disability law. In one instance, a client moved outside the law firm’s geographical area of practice (from Florida to New York) and the law firm withdrew from representation eight days prior to the hearing. Subsequent to the hearing, the client’s new counsel requested from LaVan, but did not receive, a copy of the client’s disability file. Secondly, a non-attorney employee misread the notes on a case and told the client that an appeal was filed on time, when in fact, it was not. It was LaVan’s responsibility to review the work of that employee.
• Adam Scott Neidenberg, Plantation, to be publicly reprimanded. Neidenberg is one of two managing partners at a law firm that practices Social Security and veterans’ disability law. In one instance, a client moved outside the law firm’s geographical area of practice (from Florida to New York) and the law firm withdrew from representation eight days prior to the hearing. Subsequent to the hearing, the client’s new counsel requested from Neidenberg, but did not receive, a copy of the client’s disability file. Secondly, a non-attorney employee misread the notes on a case and told the client that an appeal was filed on time, when in fact, it was not. It was Neidenberg’s responsibility to review the work of that employee.
• Stanley Howard Orner, Boca Raton, suspended for 45 days. In two separate incidents in 2013 and 2014 respectively, Orner was adjudicated guilty of reckless driving in one case and DUI in the other.
• Christine Pierre-Louis, Port St. Lucie, suspended for 91 days. After receiving notice from a bank that Pierre-Louis’ trust account had insufficient funds, the Bar requested that she produce trust account records for the period November 2012 through April 2013. Pierre-Louis failed to produce all the necessary documents. She also failed to comply with minimum trust accounting procedures, mislabeled her trust account, failed to identify the client matters in her trust checks and improperly commingled her personal funds with trust accounting funds.
• Thomas Edward Pryor Jr., Orlando, suspended for one year. Pryor placed his clients’ funds at risk by intentionally placing his personal funds in his trust account in order to prevent seizure by the Internal Revenue Service. An audit of Pryor’s trust account was initiated after the Bar received notice of two federal tax liens against Pryor for failing to pay his annual 940 and 941 federal taxes for various periods during 2000 through 2011. Pryor also failed to maintain minimum trust accounting records and follow minimum trust accounting procedures.
• Lynn Van Hyning Ramey, Tampa, suspended for one year. Further, Ramey shall pay restitution of $25,000 to the former attorney of clients she represented. When a bankruptcy debtor settled a claim with Ramey’s clients for $25,000, it was done with the understanding that the settlement check would be endorsed to Ramey and held in her trust account pending final resolution of a pending state court action involving the clients and their former attorney. Ramey gave the impression to the court and opposing counsel that she had an existing trust account, when in fact, she did not. After opening the account, Ramey deposited the check, received $1,000 toward her outstanding fees, issued the remainder to the couple, and informed opposing counsel that the funds had been deposited. She did not inform anyone for months, that the funds had been disbursed.
• Lance John Ruffe, Coral Gables, suspended until further order. Ruffe pleaded no contest in court to one count of possession of a controlled substance, a third degree felony, and possession of cannabis, 20 grams or less, a first degree misdemeanor. Adjudication was withheld and Ruffe was placed on probation for one day.
• Todd Hudson Seiden, Tampa, suspended for 91 days. In two separate cases, Seiden was retained to handle child support matters. He failed to prepare the documents and provide accurate information when one client sought updates on the status. He failed to perform the work and failed to communicate with the second client. Both clients terminated his representation.
• Diane Lyn Strickland, Stuart, suspended for six months. Strickland and her then-boyfriend negotiated a real estate transaction with a property owner. She then prepared two fraudulent closing statements, which failed to disclose all the terms of the transaction.
• Luis A. Torrens, Miami Lakes, to be publicly reprimanded. A couple retained a company owned by Torrens to handle a loan modification matter. After paying him more than $3,900, the couple submitted documents to his office and made numerous attempts to speak to him. Instead, Torrens allowed his staff to communicate with them. The couple filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and The Florida Bar. When Torrens became aware that they wanted their money back, he refunded it. They subsequently obtained a loan modification on their own.