January 2023

Minnesota Supreme Court approves disbarment of attorney after fraud conviction in bankruptcy scheme – Bemidji Pioneer

Minnesota Supreme Court approves disbarment of attorney after fraud conviction in bankruptcy scheme – Bemidji Pioneer

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court has approved an agreement disbarring former Willmar, Minnesota, attorney Gregory Ron Anderson from the practice of law for his felony conviction of fraud.

Gregory Anderson

Gregory Anderson

The Supreme Court issued a news release Tuesday, Jan. 3, stating that it had issued an order Dec. 30 in which it approved the disbarment as sought in a petition from the director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility for Anderson’s alleged professional misconduct.

Anderson, 63, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Dec. 7 to serve 18 months in prison for a conviction of fraud in the bankruptcy proceedings of former Kerkhoven Mayor James Rothers. Anderson must also serve a year of supervised release following his prison term and pay fines of $20,000.

The federal court found that Anderson had created fake liabilities to create the appearance that Rothers was insolvent when, in fact, Rothers could easily have paid all of his creditors, according to information from the U.S. District Attorney’s office.

Rothers pleaded guilty to fraud Dec. 13 and is serving two years of probation.

Anderson had agreed as part of a plea agreement in his case to voluntarily accept disbarment.

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January 13, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Contractor files for bankruptcy after accusations of Sebago Lake zoning violation

RAYMOND, Maine — A contractor is filing for bankruptcy amid state and local scrutiny over shoreline work done to a property along Sebago Lake.

Raymond officials accused the property owner, Big Lake Marine Construction and another contractor of a series of shoreland zoning violations.

Town leaders say work was completed at two adjacent properties without any permits, an issue CBS 13 first reported in August.

Sebago Lake is the source of drinking water for roughly 16 percent of Maine and town officials are concerned that the alleged violations could threaten it.

According to newly obtained court documents, the owner of Big Lake Marine, Robert Durant, filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy at the end of November.

His company has denied the alleged violations in town paperwork.

Durant’s lawyer said that the bankruptcy filing allows those who owe money to continue their work and repay their obligations without diverting valuable resources to litigation expenses.

“Chapter 13 gives debtors a fresh financial start by allowing them, and in some instances, their small businesses, the opportunity to restructure debts to maintain operations while repaying what they can afford over up to five years, often without incurring the significant expenses entailed in most state

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January 12, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Lawyer for Alex Jones gets law license temporarily suspended

Lawyer for Alex Jones gets law license temporarily suspended
Lawyer for Alex Jones gets law license temporarily suspended
The lawyer representing Austin-based conspiracy talk-show host Alex Jones (C) had his license temporarily suspended for releasing confidential files. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 6 (UPI) — Connecticut has temporarily suspended the law license of Norm Pattis, an attorney who represents right-wing talk-show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Connecticut Judge Barbara Ellis made the decision Thursday.

Families of children who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting filed three lawsuits against the Austin, Texas-based talk-show host for statements he made saying the mass shooting was faked.

Families of the victims have said they have experienced harassment from people claiming the shooting was staged and have testified that they believe Jones’ rhetoric was a motivating factor.

In October, a Connecticut jury ordered Jones to pay $965 million in damages to the families of eight Sandy Hook victims after he was found guilty of spreading false stories about the shooting.

The court said Thursday’s decision was prompted by Pattis releasing unauthorized Sandy Hook files, including personal medical records of victims’ families.

In 2021, the court modified a protection order regarding confidential records to create a “Highly Confidential-Attorneys Eyes Only” designation, limiting who could view them.

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January 10, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Alex Jones attorney suspended from practicing law in Connecticut

Alex Jones attorney suspended from practicing law in Connecticut

A lawyer for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for six months for improperly giving other Jones’ attorneys in Texas confidential documents, including the medical records of relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The ruling by Judge Barbara Bellis on Thursday afternoon came in the families’ lawsuit against Jones for repeatedly calling the shooting a hoax on his Infowars show, which resulted in Jones being ordered to pay more than $1.4 billion in damages after a jury trial in Connecticut last year.

Bellis said New Haven-based lawyer Norm Pattis failed to safeguard the families’ sensitive records in violation of her order that limited access to the documents to attorneys in the Connecticut case. She called his actions an “abject failure” and “inexcusable.”

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“We cannot expect our system of justice or our attorneys to be perfect, but we can expect fundamental fairness and decency,” the judge wrote. “There was no fairness or decency in the treatment of the plaintiffs’ most sensitive and personal information, and no excuse for the respondent’s (Pattis’) misconduct.”

Pattis said Friday in a text message that he

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January 9, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Alex Jones lawyer suspended 6 months over records release

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A lawyer for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for six months for improperly giving Jones’ other attorneys in Texas confidential documents, including the medical records of relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The ruling by Judge Barbara Bellis on Thursday afternoon came in the families’ lawsuit against Jones for repeatedly calling the shooting a hoax on his Infowars show, which resulted in Jones being ordered to pay more than $1.4 billion in damages after a jury trial in Connecticut last year.

Bellis said New Haven-based lawyer Norm Pattis failed to safeguard the families’ sensitive records in violation of her order that limited access to the documents to attorneys in the Connecticut case. She called his actions an “abject failure” and “inexcusable.”

“We cannot expect our system of justice or our attorneys to be perfect, but we can expect fundamental fairness and decency,” the judge wrote. “There was no fairness or decency in the treatment of the plaintiffs’ most sensitive and personal information, and no excuse for the respondent’s (Pattis’) misconduct.”

Pattis said Friday in a text message that he plans to appeal the discipline and

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January 8, 2023 by ATTORNEY
January 2023
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