The Indiana Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Commission filed an emergency petition to suspend the law license of local attorney Daniel E. Serban, citing criminal charges filed against him.
Serban, of Roanoke, faces charges of corrupt business influence, forgery, and two counts of theft. Charged last September, he is accused of failing to distribute money paid into the Serban Law Office’s Trust Account to clients or to those entitled by court order to receive it.
After his arrest, Serban told police some of the money he used to pay off the original client, after he was confronted, had been taken from money put into the trust account for an estate. He told investigators he forged the name of the estate’s personal representative on the check.
Attorneys are required to keep escrow-type accounts where money either coming from or going to their clients will be kept. Those accounts are to be treated with extreme fiduciary care, and attorneys have a strong ethical responsibility to protect that money.
Full Article and Source:
State Moves to Suspend Accused Roanoke Lawyer
3 comments:
The biggest problem in the field is control of that escrow account. Too easy to tap!
The organized Bar should put up tighter controls, since they're taking a share of the $$$.
Gotta be a way to hold lawyers accountable to prevent these thefts
I agree, Thelma.
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