Disbarred For Fleecing Three Clients Out Of Nearly $200K, Lawyer Now Faces Criminal Charges For Alleged Embezzlement, Concealment Of Assets In Connection With Bankrupt Client

In Winter Haven, Florida, The Ledger reports:

• A Winter Haven lawyer who was disbarred in June has been indicted in federal court on charges of misappropriating nearly $93,255 of a bankruptcy client's money.
  
  Josiah Ewing Hutton, 60, is charged with concealment of assets and embezzlement against a bankruptcy estate, and could face a maximum five years in prison on each of the two counts if he's convicted in U.S. District Court in Tampa.
  
  ***
  The federal indictment against Hutton states that a client retained him to represent her in a bankruptcy case, and she gave him a $93,255 settlement check in anticipation of that filing.
  
  He deposited the check, representing the client's bankruptcy estate, in an escrow account. When preparing the bankruptcy filing, Hutton didn't list the check as an asset, according to a news release from the Department of Justice office in Tampa. After filing the bankruptcy case, Hutton is accused of embezzling a large portion of the settlement check for his own use.
  
  Hutton was arrested [] and released from custody after posting a $10,000 bond.
  
  In a separate proceeding before the Florida Supreme Court in June, Hutton was disbarred for misappropriating funds and ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution to three clients.(1)

Source: Winter Haven lawyer accused of misappropriating $93,255 from client.

---------------------

(1) The Clients' Security Fund was created by The Florida Bar to help compensate persons who have suffered a loss of money or property due to misappropriation or embezzlement by a Florida-licensed attorney.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (August 2016) (includes Canadian recovery funds, courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.