The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended indefinitely a Delaware County attorney accused of bilking four of his clients and lying to them.
Robert M. Owens was accused of "deceitful and dishonest conduct, failing to communicate and failing to provide a timely refund to four separate clients." according to the complaint filed last year by the court-appointed Ohio Board of Professional Conduct.
The court issued its ruling Tuesday following several months of investigation, detailing four cases where the board determined that Owens' clients were strung along by false promises, questionable billing and outright theft.
Owens, 48, who could not be reached immediately for comment, is facing criminal investigations in at least two of the cases. Records show that Delaware police are investigating.
Robert M. Owens: What the attorney misconduct complaint says
The most egregious misconduct began in 2018 with a client seeking a divorce, according to the board's complaint.
Owens falsely told the man that he should deposit more than $60,000 in a special account, which would be controlled by the court. Owens told him that he could only gain access to the client funds if Owens proved he had earned it.
Client trust funds are commonly used by attorneys for retainers and other funds, but they are not controlled by the court.
Mismanagement of such trust accounts is "one of the most common ethical violations committed by lawyers," according to Investopedia, an online financial media company.
Owens also advised the man to leave him with additional funds "to shield it from bankruptcy action that (the client) was intending to file," according to the complaint.
The client eventually gave Owens payments totaling more than $150,000, only $46,000 of which Owens had earned by performing services. Much of the client's funds in Owens' account were depleted and shown to be used by Owens for personal expenses.
Three other similar cases involved smaller amounts but included clients who trusted Owens and became angry and desperate as their hearing dates approached and Owens failed to respond to them or return their money.
The suspension order noted that Owens must not provide any type of legal advice, must repay client debts, and must notify all parties that he had contact with that he is not permitted to practice law. He is eligible to petition for reconsideration at a later date if certain conditions are met. If he doesn't, he faces permanent disbarment.
Owens, whose billing rate was $300 per hour, last year closed his practice in downtown Delaware, telling some of his clients that he was dealing with "deep depression" following the death of his father, the complaint states. He began his law practice in 1998.
Owens faced a similar one-year suspension in 2018 for the same type of misconduct.
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