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.

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

Local attorney faces state discipline, fed court lawsuit

C. Allan Runser

A veteran Van Wert attorney is the subject of a complaint filed by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel for allegedly misappropriating funds and failing to properly handle the legal responsibilities related to a trust and a guardianship/estate. Attorneys representing the trust beneficiary have also filed a civil lawsuit in federal district court in Toledo to recoup funds allegedly misappropriated.

C. Allan Runser, an attorney with nearly 47 years of experience, is the subject of a three-count complaint filed September 17 with the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Ohio Supreme Court (click here to read the full complaint).

The first count charges Runser mishandled the guardianship, and, later, the estate of the late Jeanne Koch, while also alleging the attorney misappropriated more than $90,000 from the estate. The second count alleges Runser failed in his legal duties to the Barbara Mary Shackley Trust and may have misappropriated more than $471,000 from that trust, and the final count involves alleged improprieties within Runser’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Account).

According to the complaint, during his 5½ years as either emergency or permanent guardian of Koch, until her death June 13, 2011, Runser was charged with repeatedly failing to meet deadlines for making and filing an inventory of her assets, and of filing periodic guardian’s reports – despite numerous notices sent him by Van Wert County Probate Court.

The complaint charges that Runser didn’t file an inventory of Koch’s assets until June 26, 2008, more than two years after being appointed her permanent guardian. His first – and last – guardian’s report was filed June 20, 2008.

Also, despite agreeing to file a final account within 30 days of the termination of the guardianship, which ended with Koch’s death on June 23, 2011, Runser did not do so until more than a year later.

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Local attorney faces state discipline, fed court lawsuit