Opinion ID: 2546336
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Conversion of Funds from the Wickliffe Estate

Text: Felecia Pleas is the personal representative of the estate of her late mother, Annie Wickliff (the Wickliffe Estate or the Estate). Ms. Pleas hired Respondent in January 2003 to probate the Estate. During that same month, Ms. Pleas delivered a total of $32,734.75 to Respondent$23,816.73 from the credit union that held Wickliffe Estate assets, and $8,919.00 in other Wickliffe assets. Respondent then deposited these funds, respectively, into two accounts:  US Bank account no. XXXXXXXXXXXX (Estate Account)  US Bank account no. XXXXXXXXXXXX ( COLTAF Account). On February 3, 2003, Ms. Pleas paid Respondent an attorney retainer fee of $750.00. This was the only money Ms. Pleas agreed to provide Respondent. Nevertheless, Respondent thereafter withdrew money from both the Estate and COLTAF Accounts without Ms. Pleas' permission, beginning in January 2003 and continuing to March of 2003. During this time, Respondent failed to advise Ms. Pleas about the withdrawals he made and failed to keep records accounting for them. At some point, Respondent also managed to deposit $2,777.95 in personal funds belonging to Ms. Pleas (unrelated to the Estate) into the Estate Account. He did so by presenting a check, from Resources Trust and payable to Ms. Pleas, to U.S. Bank. In March of 2003, Ms. Pleas terminated Respondent's services and demanded the return of her file and all funds from both accounts. She then hired new counsel, Kristal Bernert, to represent her as the personal representative of the Wickliffe Estate. Respondent did not return the file or the funds belonging to the Estate and Ms. Pleas individually. When Respondent refused to return Ms. Pleas' file and the funds, Ms. Bernert asked Respondent to account for the funds he had withdrawn from the Estate and COLTAF accounts. Respondent, however, did not provide Ms. Pleas with an accounting as requested. After Ms. Bernert's request for an accounting, Respondent opened a new account with Key Bank. Without Ms. Pleas' permission, he transferred all the Wickliffe funds in the COLTAF Account into the new account. In addition, Respondent refused to answer Ms. Pleas' letters and telephone calls. Finally, Ms. Pleas filed a motion in the probate court, asking the court to order Respondent to return both the money and her client file. On June 10, 2003, the probate court ordered Respondent to return Ms. Pleas' file and all of the Wickliffe property, plus interest, by the close of business that day. Despite the probate court's order, Respondent failed to return all of the money or account for funds he withdrew from the Estate and COLTAF accounts. Instead, Respondent only returned $18,363.37, an amount that represents the funds Respondent transferred from U.S. Bank to Key Bank without Ms. Pleas' permission. In January 2003, Ms. Pleas delivered to Respondent a total of $32,734.73 in Wickliffe assets. As a result of Respondent's failure to either return the funds he controlled or to account for them, the probate court held him in contempt. To date, Respondent has yet to return or account to Ms. Pleas for $4,050.35 from the COLTAF Account and $3,379.00 from the Estate Account, despite the probate court's order to do so. In addition, the probate court set a hearing on June 10, 2003, for the purpose of accounting for the missing funds. Respondent appeared at that hearing and asked for a continuance, claiming that he had to appear in court in Bent County to represent another client as guardian ad litem. A clerk for the probate court made phone calls to Bent County to confirm Respondent's claim, but learned instead that no such hearing had been scheduled. Respondent's conversion of the Wickliffe Estate funds and funds belonging to Ms. Pleas, as well as his false statements to the tribunal constitute a violation Colo. RPC 8.4(c) because he engaged in dishonest and fraudulent conduct. Furthermore, Respondent's failure to repay the remainder of the Wickliffe funds to Ms. Pleas as ordered by the probate court constitutes a violation of Colo. RPC 3.4(c) because he knowingly disobeyed an obligation under the rules of the tribunal.