Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

The Broward DUI Lawyer Blog recently wrote about a local police officer arrested for filing a false report on a suspect whom he didn't actually see driving a vehicle yet charged the man with driving with a suspended license. To keep things in balance, today we're going to talk about a lawyer's troubles with the law.

A local attorney who has been disbarred now faces criminal charges of grand theft, organizing a scheme to defraud, and practicing law while disbarred.

All professions can have bad apples that spoil the image of all of those who work in a particular field. Lawyers tend to feel the brunt of countless jokes and criticism, yet let's face it, when you are at your moment of need, facing a charge of theft in Fort Lauderdale, DUI in West Palm Beach or other law issues, you need to trust an attorney.

An experienced and dedicated Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer is the only thing standing between a defendant and the criminal charges that could strip that person of his or her freedom. Therefore, having an experienced South Florida lawyer, with decades of work experience in local courthouses, by your side is invaluable.

According to a report in The Palm Beach Post, a 45-year-old Wellington lawyer faces charges of ripping off clients of more than $800,000 during real estate transactions. The lawyer is accused of the alleged crimes going back to 2004, according to court documents.

Investigators allege that the attorney helped a Finland woman sell a Lake Worth Home in 2004. When it closed for $800,000, the lawyer was supposed to pay her $733,125. But police believe he deposited the money into bank accounts, made some payments and then stopped, falling about $468,000 short of what he owed.

The actions led to him being suspended and eventually disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court, meaning he can no longer practice law in Florida.

While he was suspended in October 2009, prior to his disbarment in July 2010, he allegedly represented another woman in an attempted short sale of a townhouse in Royal Palm Beach. The woman wired money, which was supposed to be used to satisfy the mortgage, to the lawyer. However, the attorney allegedly kept the money. Subsequently, the house went into foreclosure and the woman was issued a $278,000 judgment.

Stories like these make attorneys cringe, just like officers likely were appalled to hear of an officer being arrested. But like any criminal charge filed by police and prosecutors, the charges must be proven far beyond the initial allegations made in the press.

What the public hears upon arrest is only the initial information that police have discovered usually in only a short time. The defense hasn't yet received the police reports, warrant affidavits, witness statements or other information that may show discrepancies or contradictions to the facts.

Police only put the information in initial reports that tend to support their evidence for an arrest. That standard is much lower that what is needed to convict a person of the crime of which he or she is charged.