from staff
Jay Charles Floyd of St. Augustine was suspended until further notice following a Dec. 23, 2008 court order by the Florida Bar. According to the Bar, Floyd — who was admitted to the Bar in 1990 — appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds from his trust account. In one instance, a check for $11,000 written on Floyd’s trust account was returned due to insufficient funds. In a second matter, Floyd received a settlement in the amount of $5,500 for a personal injury client. He admitted to misappropriating the money for his personal use.
The Bar also announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 35 attorneys, disbarring eight, suspending 21 others and placing three on probation. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Five attorneys were reprimanded. Three were ordered to pay restitution.
The following lawyers are disciplined:
• Richard Andrew Aronsky of Sunny Isles Beach, disbarred effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. In 2005, a company controlled by Aronsky bought some property in Miami Beach. Aronsky was the closing and title agent for the transaction. The seller associated with the deal took back a purchase money mortgage, which was not recorded. Subsequently, Aronsky closed a loan transaction involving the property with another lender and failed to pay off the purchase money mortgage.
• Lee Arman Cohn of Fort Lauderdale, permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a Jan. 29 court order. Cohn continued to practice law, knowing that he was disbarred. He also purposely lied to the court as to his identity in order to be able to practice law.
• Laura L. Hess of Pompano Beach, disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following a Jan. 15 court order. Among Hess’ violations, she operated a law firm in which her partner was a non-lawyer; she led clients to believe she had deposited their funds in trust accounts, when in fact, she had not; her law firm’s letterhead improperly reflected addresses for out-of-state law offices; and Hess allowed individuals not licensed to practice law in Florida to represent clients.
• Michael Edward Hill of Aventura, disbarred, effective immediately, following a Feb. 12 court order. Hill admitted that he did not follow The Florida Bar’s required rules regarding trust accounts. In May 2008, the Bar was informed by a bank that Hill’s trust account check of more than $9,000 had been returned for insufficient funds. The Bar then served Hill with a subpoena for bank account records and other documents. Hill neglected to produce all of the requested items.
• Erik Owen Leavell of Fort Lauderdale, disbarred effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. In June 2008, The Florida Bar was informed by a bank that Leavell’s trust account had a negative balance of more than $18,000. The Bar served Leavell with a subpoena for bank account records, which he failed to produce.
• Raymond Earl Miller of Venice, disbarred effective 30 days from a Jan. 8 court order. After a complaint was filed against Miller, alleging delays in making the final disbursement in an estate, He made the payment, but failed to provide an accounting. An examination of Miller’s trust account records and ledger cards revealed that he failed to maintain a balance in the trust account sufficient to cover the estate. He also failed to maintain records required by The Florida Bar’s rules.
• Rene Navarro of Miami, disbarred effective 30 days from a Jan. 8 court order. Navarro misrepresented the receipt of client funds to opposing counsel in discovery in a lawsuit and to the court.
• Francisco Jose Segredo of Miami, disbarred effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. Segredo purchased several units from a real estate development in which he had ownership interest. In every purchase, Segredo failed to pay off the first mortgage.
• William Abramson of West Palm Beach, suspended for 91 days until further order, effective Jan. 2, following a Dec. 18, 2008 court order. While representing a defendant in a criminal trial, Abramson was disrespectful and confrontational with the presiding judge. Abramson was publicly reprimanded twice before for serious misconduct and placed on probation once.
• Elizabeth Aileen Broome of Pensacola, suspended effective immediately, following a Jan. 15 court order. In December 2008, Broome was found guilty of 13 felony counts of grand theft. She took legal fees but failed to provide the legal services for which she was retained. Broome was sentenced to six months incarceration and 10 years probation. She was also ordered to pay restitution to her former clients in the amount of more than $68,000.
• Frank Michael Costanzo of Baltimore, Md., suspended until further order, following a Dec. 23, 2008 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Costanzo appeared to be causing great public harm by abandoning his practice and misappropriating client funds.
• Gregory R. Deal of Lakeland, suspended until further order, following a Jan. 5 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Deal appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds held in trust. The Bar’s audit showed that in October 2008, Deal’s trust account had a shortage of more than $65,000, which was created by Deal writing checks to himself.
• Giselle Ferro of Miami, suspended for 91 days, effective immediately, following a Jan. 5 court order. Ferro failed to communicate or represent her client in a dissolution of marriage case. She also failed to communicate with The Florida Bar’s grievance committee regarding the case.
• Michael Sean Foster of Sarasota, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a Feb. 5 court order. Foster engaged in a pattern of neglect by failing to perform services and communicate with clients in five cases. In some instances, he was paid a retainer and never refunded the money. Foster also failed to communicate with The Florida Bar’s grievance committee regarding the cases.
• Marlene Garcia of Coral Gables, suspended effective immediately, following a Dec. 8, 2008 court order. In July 2008, Garcia pleaded guilty in circuit court to cocaine purchase/possession with intent to purchase, a felony. (Case No.
• Richard Bruce Gersten of Laurel, suspended for 91 days, effective immediately, following a Jan. 8 court order. He is further ordered to pay restitution of $400 to one client. Gersten represented four clients while a delinquent member of The Florida Bar for not paying his fees. He also failed to act with diligence and promptness in informing the clients about the status of their matters.
• Jeffrey Marc Herman of North Miami Beach suspended for 18 months and thereafter until reinstated, effective Feb. 7, following a Jan. 8 court order. Herman engaged in a conflict of interest and dishonest conduct when he established his own business in competition with an existing client, while continuing to represent that client, without informing his client of the competing business.
• Stephen Richard Kain of Fort Lauderdale, suspended for 60 days, effective Jan. 23, following a Jan. 22 court order. Kain is further ordered to complete ethics school. Kain was retained to file a change of status petition for a client so he could be employed and legally stay in the United States. Kain filed the petition late and failed to tell the client and the client’s employer. He also lied to The Florida Bar and others, blaming another attorney at his firm for the late filing of the client’s petition.
• Tyrone L. Lufman of Arvada, Colo., suspended for 30 days, effective 30 days from a Dec. 18, 2008 court order. This is a reciprocal discipline case arising out of misconduct and discipline from the Colorado Bar, of which Lufman is also a member. In December 2007, Lufman was suspended for six months, with all but 30 months stayed, upon the successful completion of a one-year probation. The misconduct is based on Lufman’s November 2005 altercation, with his ex-spouse. She suffered a cut to her face and lip; both required stitches. In May 2006, Lufman pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a class 1 misdemeanor. Lufman successfully completed all the conditions of his one-year deferred judgment and the criminal case was dismissed in May 2007.
• Jerona Charmaine Maiyo of Orlando, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 18 court order. In April 2007, Maiyo was suspended for 30 days and placed on probation for three years upon reinstatement. Maiyo was noncompliant with the terms of her probation.
• William L. Mims Jr. of Orlando, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 18 court order. Mims was non-compliant with the terms of a two-year probation imposed in January 2004.
• Okechukwu Josiah Odunna of Lauderhill, suspended until further order, following a Jan. 5 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Odunna appeared to be causing great public harm. He failed to record at least 17 original deeds and 21 original mortgages, exposing a title insurance fund to more than $10 million in claims exposure. A Florida Bar compliance audit of Odunna’s trust accounting records determined that he misappropriated more than $370,000 in client funds.
• Natalia V. Poliakova of Aventura, suspended for 30 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. Poliakova is further ordered to pay restitution of $4,030.00 to a client. Poliakova was hired to handle an immigration matter for a fee of $3,530. She failed to perform the service and failed to communicate with the client, despite requests. The client resolved the issue herself by hiring another attorney. Poliakova, meanwhile, failed to respond to The Florida Bar’s inquiries about the case.
• John K. Renke, II of New Port Richey, suspended for 60 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 12 court order. Further, Renke will receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar Board of Governors. Renke made illegal campaign contributions to his son, who was employed in his office from 1995 until he was elected to the bench in 2002. Renke also misrepresented the timing and nature of the payments he made to his son, in testimony before the Judicial Qualifications Commission.
• Ronald Thomas Rider of Fort Pierce, suspended until further order, following a Dec. 23, 2008 court order. According to an emergency suspension order, Rider appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating funds held in trust. An audit by The Florida Bar found that Rider had a shortage in his trust account of more than $63,000 as of July 1, 2008, and $87,000 as of Nov. 13, 2008.
• William Roach Jr. of Plantation, suspended for three years, running consecutively to the three-year suspension ordered in 2007, following a Dec. 18, 2008 court order. Roach is further ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,540 to two clients. During the course of a previous three-year suspension from the practice of law, which began in 2007, Roach provided legal advice to clients, but did not advise them that he was suspended.
• David Michael Scott of Plantation, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a Jan. 29 court order. Scott was hired to handle an employment contract termination case. He failed to perform any work on the matter, failed communicate with the client and did not return the files to the client. Further, Scott neglected to reply to a letter from The Florida Bar regarding the case, he did not respond to a case filed with the Supreme Court of Florida and he failed to appear at the final hearing.
• Robert L. Shepherd of Fort Lauderdale, suspended effective immediately, following a Jan. 16 court order. Shepherd was found guilty in U.S. District Court of one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, a felony. He used his law firm as a front for the employment of a co-conspirator whose probation terms prohibited such employment. Shepherd was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and fined $3,000.
• Jay Allen Unger of Boynton Beach, suspended effective 30 days from a Jan. 9 court order. In July 2008, Unger was found guilty in circuit court of felony drug charges and sentenced to three years in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections. Two months later, Unger was found guilty in circuit court of grand theft and presenting a false insurance claim for the theft of a rental trailer with his two motorcycles; and one misdemeanor, making a false report of a crime. He was sentenced to three additional years in custody, to be served concurrently.
• Jolyon Wilson Morris of Miami, placed on probation for two years, effective immediately, following a Feb. 5 court order. An investigation of Morris’ trust account revealed that he was not in compliance with basic trust account rules as required by The Florida Bar, including client ledger cards, receipt and disbursement journals and bank and client reconciliations.
• G. Frank Quesada of Coral Gables, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar Board of Governors and further placed on probation for six months, effective immediately, following a Feb. 5 court order. Quesada violated ethical rules during the course of representing clients in a real estate deal.
• Alejandro Lazaro Sixto of Hialeah, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar Board of Governors, following a Feb. 12 court order. In two separate matters regarding traffic citations, Sixto failed to properly communicate with clients about the dispositions of their cases. This resulted in late fees being assessed on one client and another client being arrested for not appearing in court.
• Alfredo Domingo Xiques of Miami, to receive a public reprimand, following a Jan. 29 court order. Xiques acted as the closing attorney on a real estate transaction for four long-standing clients. He notarized the signature of his cousin, who was present at the closing. At his cousin’s request, Xiques then notarized the signatures of the three remaining people involved in the transaction, even though they were not present.
• Odiator Arugu of Orlando, reprimanded and placed on probation for two years, following a Feb. 12 court order. Arugu did not properly maintain his trust account records to support disbursement and receipt of funds to the account; nor did he properly maintain client ledgers and journals. An audit of Arugu’s trust records for May 2005 through December 2007 indicated that Arugu was not in compliance with Florida Bar rules regulating trust accounts.