(Reuters) - A prominent Washington, D.C., criminal defense lawyer who was disbarred last year is suing PNC Bank NA, alleging it failed to stop his ex-employee from embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from him and his law firm.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in D.C. federal court, Bernard Grimm alleged PNC's failure to follow federal law and industry standards allowed his firm's former employee, Katherine Ross, to cash forged checks and transfer client money out of accounts his firm maintained.
In March 2020, PNC notified D.C. disciplinary officials that a check from one of Grimm's client trust accounts bounced, the lawsuit said. That kicked off an ethics investigation that "eventually caused plaintiff to surrender his license to practice," Grimm said.
The D.C. Court of Appeals' June order disbarring Grimm did not detail the underlying claims against him, but a court filing showed authorities were prepared to bring claims against Grimm including "failing to keep complete records, commingling and misappropriation" and "charging an unreasonable fee."
Grimm's lawsuit on Monday alleged he informed PNC multiple times of a fraudulent check scheme involving his accounts, but the bank still allowed Ross to make withdrawals and ignored other safeguards.
"It is difficult to imagine a bank being more incompetent than knowing that is being used as an instrument in criminal fraud scheme and taking no action to stop it," the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for PNC Bank did not respond to a request for comment.
Ross pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in April 2021, stipulating to embezzling at least $320,000 from Grimm's law firm. Grimm alleged in his lawsuit that Ross embezzled at least $725,000 from him "through various methods ... none of which would have succeeded but for" PNC's failures.
In May 2021, Grimm consented to his disbarment, admitting that he violated bar rules requiring lawyers to safeguard client funds.
Grimm said in his lawsuit against PNC that the disciplinary process cost him more than $18,000 in legal fees, which he has been unable to pay.
Ross was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $320,000 in restitution to Grimm's law firm. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Grimm is represented in the PNC lawsuit by Barry Coburn of Washington's Coburn & Greenbaum. Coburn declined to comment.
The case is Grimm v. PNC Bank NA, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:22-cv-01006.
For Bernard Grimm: Barry Coburn of Coburn & Greenbaum
For PNC Bank: Not available
No comments:
Post a Comment