Attorney linked to clients’ missing settlement money disbarred

TAMPA, Fla. -- The state’s highest court issued an order permanently disbarring a once popular Tampa attorney now accused of withholding his clients’ settlement money.

The Florida Supreme Court issued the order disbarring Jose Toledo as of May 14.

ABC Action News first exposed allegations about the missing settlement last summer after Toledo’s personal injury clients contacted ABC Action News saying he never sent their settlement checks.

Toledo practiced personal injury and immigration law in the Tampa Bay area for two decades.

Nearly 50 of Toledo’s clients have filed complaints with the Florida Bar and last fall, the Bar petitioned a judge to suspend the well-known attorney.

Court records show Toledo is accused of wiping out three different trust accounts that held settlement money.

Toledo’s whereabouts are currently unknown and he was last seen in August in Tennessee, where he was arrested on a domestic assault charge.

The Florida Supreme Court also ordered Toledo to pay more than $2,300 in court costs, but the order did not mention repayment his clients’ settlement money.

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Attorney linked to clients’ missing settlement money disbarred