by Jim Walsh
CAMDEN – A Gloucester County attorney has been disbarred after being accused of taking almost $250,000 from a client’s trust account.
The action followed a series of escalating penalties for Adam Brent, a Franklinville lawyer who has faced multiple allegations of ethics violations.
Brent, who could not be reached for comment, also was known for his courtroom role in a high-profile murder case in Camden. He was the defense attorney at the 2018 trial of Tyhan Brown, a Camden man now serving a 51-year term in connection with the accidental shooting death of a child.
The state Supreme Court ordered Brent’s disbarment Wednesday, acting on a 25-page recommendation from its Disciplinary Review Board, court records show.
According to the board's report, "the record clearly and convincingly supports" a charge of knowing misappropriation against Brent, an attorney since 2003.
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| Defense attorney Adam Brent sits next to Tyhan Brown prior to his client being sentenced to up to 51 years in state prison for his role in the August 2016 shooting death of 8-year-old Gabby Hill-Carter in Camden. Chris LaChall/Staff Photographer |
The attorney was accused of taking about $246,000 from trusts that he established in 2012 and 2014 on behalf of two clients, Benjamin Gropper and his son Jonathan.
The withdrawals included $3,600 for a Disney World vacation and purchases from home improvement stores, restaurants, gas stations and other merchants. The trusts also incurred overdraft charges of about $500, it said.
The alleged misspending was noticed after the Groppers replaced Brent as their trustee in April 2016.
The new trustee filed an ethics grievance in August 2017, saying Brent had refused to provide financial records and tax returns for the four-year period that he oversaw the funds.
At an April 2018 meeting with the Office of Attorney Ethics, Brent asserted the withdrawals were allowed under a fee agreement that was “not spelled out, but it was definitely understood.”
In contrast, the board said, Jonathan Gropper “denied that he either knew or consented to” the alleged unauthorized spending.
The Groppers are among at least five parties to file malpractice suits against Brent in state court.
Superior Court Judge John Harrington in Mount Holly ordered a default judgment against Brent in June 2018, ordering him to pay almost $534,000 to the Groppers for negligence and "intentional theft of trust funds."
Brent received the first of five suspensions in March 2019, this one for failing to cooperate with an OAE review of his actions.
The board's recommendation noted Brent “repeatedly” claimed he could not recall information at the April 2018 meeting and refused to attend a second meeting.
Requests for documents and accounting records “predominantly went unanswered,” even after Brent was warned the OAE “had a ‘clear case’ of knowing misappropriation,” it noted.
While the March 2019 penalty was still in effect, Brent received another temporary suspension in October 2019 for failing to comply with a fee arbitration determination in another case.
He received a three-month suspension in December 2109 for gross neglect and other ethical violations.
"In that case, (Brent) had provided his clients with two fabricated documents — a general release that falsely stated that the matter had settled for $140,000 and a bogus release of a deed," the board said.
A one-year suspension in May 2020 occurred because Brent practiced law during five periods of ineligibility between 2008 and 2014. During that time, Brent improperly handled “dozens of client matters” and served as a municipal prosecutor in Franklin and municipal public defender in Delran.
And the Supreme Court in October 2020 ordered a consecutive two-year suspension for misconduct in four separate client matters.
The disciplinary board, in recommending the October 2020 penalty, noted "the recurring nature" of Brent's "serious misconduct" and said "his continued practice of law represents a clear danger to the public"
The board's most recent recommendation noted correspondence sent by certified mail to Brent’s “last known home address” in Vineland was returned as “unclaimed” in February and April 2020.
It said Brent’s failure to defend himself “is deemed an admission that the allegations are true.”
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