Lawyer facing disbarment for 'misusing' money for personal benefit [The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.]
Jan. 18—BEVERLY — A
The attorney,
On Wednesday, Sargent said he has appealed the decision to the full Supreme Judicial Court.
Sargent deposited an
Sargent told his client's mother that he would "hold onto" the money until all the girl's medical bills were paid. But the board said Sargent "knew that the funds were to be paid to the providers and did not belong to him," and that he "made an intentional decision to not pay the providers."
In an interview on Wednesday, Sargent admitted that he took the
"There was
But the
"Paying a client the fruits of a lawyer's misconduct is not mitigating where the money did not belong to the client," the board said.
In defending himself to the board, Sargent said he was under "financial and emotional distress." He said he was caring for his elderly parents, who lived in two separate assisted living facilities, and had to give up criminal defense work due to the time commitment.
Sargent testified that 2019 was a bad year financially for him, that he could not pay his bills, felt "overwhelmed," and at one point faced eviction. But the board said Sargent acknowledged that his financial picture improved greatly over the next three years.
"(W)hile we appreciate the financial and personal challenges and do not minimize them, we agree with the (hearing) committee that they were not so unusual or extreme to mitigate the respondent's misconduct," the board wrote.
The board also rejected Sargent's claim that he took the case for "altruistic" reasons, after two other lawyers had turned down the family. The board said Sargent did not take the case pro bono, and in fact was paid
"Whatever benign intentions he may have had at the outset of the case were overshadowed by his theft of trust funds," the board said.
In deciding to disbar Sargent rather than issue a suspension, the board said it also took into consideration that he was an experienced lawyer with 15 years of practice, and that he had been previously disciplined by the board in 2014 for trust fund violations.
The incident involving Sargent's client took place on
The girl's family, which was insured under MassHealth, the state's public health insurer, incurred medical bills of about
The
In a dissenting opinion, two members of the
"The hearing committee noted the respondent's sincere remorse as well as his genuine interest in helping his client," the dissenting members said. "It also accepted that the respondent learned from his mistakes and hired a bookkeeper as a prophylactic measure."
In addition to the appeal, Sargent said he plans to file a lawsuit against the
Sargent called the decision to disbar him "way too harsh."
"I don't want you to get the feeling that I stole the money," he said. "I've never stolen anything in my life."
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
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