Suspended Rochester attorney sentenced to 30 days in jail

April 30--An attorney who was suspended -- then convicted of forgery and theft -- was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail and fined $1,085.

Tedman John Heim, 42, of 710 25th St. S.W., was found guilty in January of two counts of check forgery and one count of theft, all felonies.

He was sentenced only on one of the forgery counts; the other two counts were dismissed as part of a court order.

The charges stem from an insurance settlement case in which Heim represented the son of a victim of a May 2011 car crash.

As part of the settlement, one of the insurance companies sent Allen and Heim Law Office a check for $50,000 in October 2011, which should have been deposited into a trust account until the suit was resolved.

Instead, Heim is accused of forging his client's signature, depositing it into his own business account and using the funds for personal use. According to the complaint, Heim's law partner and support staff didn't know about or have access to the account.

Heim reportedly handled the firm's finances, paid bills, issued checks and opened the incoming mail, the complaint says.

In July 2012, Heim's client began pressuring him to schedule a hearing so the court could disburse the wrongful death proceeds. According to the complaint, Heim frequently told his staff to lie to the victim and said another claim was delaying the disbursement.

In September and again in October 2012, a court hearing date was scheduled for the distribution of the money, but Heim canceled both hearings.

Eventually, the client contacted the insurance company, which confirmed that the settlement draft had been cashed in January 2012.

When confronted by his partner, Heim denied the funds were missing, saying instead that they were in a separate, interest-bearing account but could provide no proof. The next day, the victim confronted Heim, who said Heim reportedly admitted that he had "screwed up" and no longer had the money.

On Oct. 17, 2012, Heim's partner in the firm told police the money was missing.

An investigation revealed Heim wrote checks to himself totaling $23,100; spent more than $4,000 at a jewelry store; nearly $5,000 for his property taxes; nearly $10,000 on home remodeling and more than $2,500 for car repairs. He also wrote wrote checks to James Heim Sr. totaling $3,600.

Heim eventually made restitution by cashing out a life insurance policy and borrowing from a family member's retirement account, according to the petition for disciplinary action.

A petition for suspending his law license was granted April 29 by the Minnesota State Supreme Court. According to court documents, the facts of the petition show that Heim's "authority to practice law poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public."

The court has not ruled further on his suspension, which was to last through his sentencing.

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