Florida Bar News

September 1, 2015 Disciplinary Actions

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 22 attorneys — disbarring four, revoking the licenses of two, suspending 14, and publicly reprimanding two. Four attorneys were also placed on probation.

Ralph Oliver Anderson, 517 S.W. 7th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter and further placed on probation for three years, following a June 25 court order. Anderson shall also complete an alcohol rehabilitation program with Florida Lawyers Assistance. (Admitted to practice: 1985) Anderson was involved in a minor traffic crash that resulted in his pleading no contest to a misdemeanor DUI property damage charge. (Case No. SC15-1013)

Jack Alan Bellan, 7401 Wiles Road, Suite 201, Coral Springs, suspended until he fully responds in writing to an official Bar inquiry and until further order, following a May 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1989) Bellan was found in contempt for failing to respond to an official Bar inquiry. (Case No. SC15-237)

Ian Scott Berger, 3614 W. Sterling Circle, Tampa. The court granted Berger a disciplinary revocation with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective 30 days from a June 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment. Berger had disciplinary charges pending regarding his involvement in foreclosure-related rescue services. (Case No. SC15-845)

Thomas R. Busatta, Sr., 12995 S. Cleveland Ave., Suite 47, Ft. Myers, suspended for 60 days, effective June 12, following a May 21 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2009) Busatta improperly wrote checks for associate salaries out of his trust account, which upon audit was not in substantial compliance with the trust account rules; in other matters, Busatta continuously appeared late or not at all for hearings or trials that had to be rescheduled. (Case No. SC14-2312)

Wayne K. Ekren, 9330 Regency Park Blvd., Port Richey, suspended until further order, following a June 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) According to a petition for emergency suspension order, Ekren appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds. (Case No. SC15-1044)

William Richard Ezzell, 2883 N.W. 138th Terrace, Gainesville, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a June 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Ezzell pleaded no contest in court to the crime of video voyeurism. He was sentenced to two years felony offender probation, and adjudication was withheld. (Case No. SC15-1100)

Patrick John Hammergren, 114 E. Gregory St., Pensacola, suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a May 21 court order. Further, Hammergren is placed on probation for two years and directed to attend ethics school. (Admitted to practice: 2003) In several instances, after being retained, Hammergren failed to competently and diligently represent clients as well as expedite their litigation. He failed to adequately communicate by keeping his clients informed about their cases, and he misrepresented the status of the cases to his clients. (Case Nos. SC14-324 and SC14-2184)

Kelly Brook Hampton, 644 Cesery Blvd., Suite 310, Jacksonville suspended for 60 days, effective 30 days from a May 21 court order. Further, upon reinstatement, Hampton is placed on probation for two years, following a May 21 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Complaints caused the Bar to audit Hampton’s firm’s trust account. The audit revealed technical trust account violations, negligent and imprecise bookkeeping, and negative balances, but there was no evidence of theft. (Case No. SC15-591)

Jeffrey Hilliard Hochberg, 1121 S. Military Trail No. 177, Deerfield Beach, disbarred effective immediately, following a June 4 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) Hochberg failed to appear at a February 16 final Bar hearing regarding a complaint. He was previously suspended for repeatedly failing to respond to official Bar inquiries. In two separate instances, Hochberg was retained to represent clients. He failed to properly communicate with them, and he took little or no action on the cases. (Case No. SC14-1655)

Mark Douglas Johnson, 64 Uwohali Court, Brevard, N.C., suspended for 91 days, effective immediately, following a May 28 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1975) Johnson knowingly practiced law while suspended. As a result, the court was forced to appoint new counsel to represent the client, leading to a delay in processing the criminal case and unnecessary expenditure of judicial resources and time. (Case No. SC15-248)

Carolyn Roschelle Jones, 3107 Spring Glen Road, Suite 203, Jacksonville, suspended for two years, effective 30 days from a June 4 court order. Further, Jones is placed on probation for one year and directed to attend ethics school. (Admitted to practice: 2007) Jones was found guilty in court of forgery and uttering a forged instrument, both felonies. While working for another lawyer, Jones used the attorney’s notary public stamp and signed the attorney’s name on an affidavit without her knowledge. The employer had never heard of the client and had never done any work for him. (Case No. SC14-1107)

Stephanie Arma Kraft, 1440 Coral Ridge Drive, No. 217, Coral Springs, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a March 18 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1988) In December 2014, Kraft was convicted of official misconduct after a jury trial. Official misconduct is a third-degree felony.

Kraft is appealing the criminal case. (Case No. SC15-486)

Julie Kronhaus, 1936 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park, permanently disbarred effective immediately following a June 18 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Kronhaus was found in contempt for violating the terms of a September 26, 2014, disbarment order. She deposited funds into her attorney trust account that should have been closed due to her disbarment; she misappropriated funds improperly deposited into her trust account; and she failed to notify her clients of her disbarment. (Case No. SC15-755)

S. Tracy Long, 5300 W. Atlantic Ave., Suite 505, Delray Beach, to be publicly reprimanded, following a June 12 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 1990) Long failed to provide proof of compliance or to respond in a timely manner to official inquiries regarding a November 20, 2014, suspension and restitution order. (SC15-484)

Michael Laurence McKinnon, Jr., 911 Delaware Ave., Ft. Pierce, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a June 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1979) Seven separate co-defendants, all undocumented immigrants, hired McKinnon to represent them in a criminal case regarding their employment. McKinnon failed to provide the clients with competent representation. He failed to conduct any investigation, depositions, or discovery. He advised the clients to accept criminal pleas, which they understood would not hurt their immigration cases. Ultimately, the pleas negatively affected their immigration cases. (SC14-2185)

Amy Elizabeth Newby, 3869 Santa Fe St. E, Jacksonville, suspended effective immediately, following a June 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) Newby has been suspended since February 2011. In June 2014, she was convicted of federal mail fraud, a felony, and sentenced to incarceration for 15 months. (Case No. SC15-1051)

Robert Thomas Parr, 224 Datura St., Suite 615, West Palm Beach, disbarred effective retroactive to February 16, following a July 2 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2009) Parr was the subject of 17 Bar disciplinary matters. A Bar investigation indicated that Parr abandoned his law practice without warning, leaving some clients in the midst of pending legal matters. After the Bar’s petition for emergency suspension was granted, Parr neither appeared or participated in the proceedings before the appointed referee. (Case No. SC15-40)

Tracy Preston Preece, 379 Cheney Highway No. 22, Titusville, suspended for one year, effective July 13, following a June 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Preece failed to file an answer to a Bar complaint and failed to appear at the sanction hearing February 13. Preece was a claimant in a workers’ compensation matter arising from an alleged neck injury that Preece said was suffered lifting a box of files at work. The judge of compensation claims found that, throughout the claim, Preece exhibited a repetitive pattern of dishonesty in order to obtain compensation benefits. (Case No. SC14-1717)

Richard Burke Pyles, 17330 S.W. 300th St., Homestead. The court granted Pyles a disciplinary revocation, with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective retroactive to March 15, following a June 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Disciplinary revocation is equivalent to disbarment. Pyles had three charges pending, alleging, among other things, fraudulent use of a notary stamp in order to present false affidavits to the trial court. (Case No. SC15-232)

Henry Bryant Sims, P.O. Box 2153, Palm Beach, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, following a June 1 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1969) Sims was found in contempt for violating the terms of an April 26, 2006, disbarment order, by willfully practicing law. A Bar inquiry confirmed that Sims sent a letter to a plaintiff in an attempt to settle a case on behalf of a defendant. (Case No. SC14-2386)

Catherine E. Stahre, 14101 S.W. 66th Street, Apt. A2, Miami, suspended until she responds in writing to an official Bar inquiry and until further order, effective 30 days from a May 18 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1992) Stahre was found in contempt for failing to respond to official Bar inquiries. The Florida Bar found that she willfully failed to respond and show cause for her noncompliance. (Case No. SC15-392)

Jennifer L. Taylor, 6506 State Highway 1056, McCarr, Ky., suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a June 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2007) Taylor is also a licensed practicing attorney in Kentucky. Taylor failed to notify the Bar that she had entered a plea to “simple possession of a non-controlled substance,” a misdemeanor, and that the criminal charges were dismissed. She also failed to respond in writing to an official Bar inquiry, and she failed to participate in a final hearing, despite being aware she could appear by telephone. (Case No. SC14-2022)

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline. Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that rejects many who apply. It includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam. Historically, less than 5 percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.