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

Josiah Ewing Hutton

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 Florida Bar shows he'd been practicing law since 1989, most recently in Fort Myers, but the Polk County Property Appraiser's Office website shows he's owned a house on Lake Otis in Winter Haven since 1991 and claims homestead exemptions on that property.

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 Friday 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.

Full Article & Source:
Winter Haven lawyer accused of misappropriating $93,255 from client