Six Columbus-area lawyers, including one convicted of raping a client, face professional-misconduct charges before the disciplinary arm of the Ohio Supreme Court.
The filing of the cases before the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline seeking action against the lawyers’ licenses was announced this week by court officials.
A probable-cause panel recommended that suspended Columbus lawyer Javier Armengau be permanently disbarred following his conviction for raping one client and sexually assaulting two other women.
Armengau, 52, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Aug. 26. But, the disciplinary complaint against him further accuses Armengau of a laundry-list of misconduct involving at least a dozen cases.
The complaint accuses him of conflicts of interest, charging excessive fees, making false statements, failing to return client funds, dishonesty, incivility, false advertising and client trust-fund violations.
Six other local lawyers also face charges before the disciplinary board.
Stephen E. Hillman, of Dublin, was cited for misconduct involving federal income tax violations from 2009 to 2011. He was placed on six months of house arrest this year and ordered to pay $133,899 to the IRS.
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Armengau, 5 other lawyers face misconduct charges
Armengau sounds like a real threat to the public. All of his cases should be reviewed for misconduct.
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