Florida Press Helps to Keep "Officers of the Courts" Clean

Supreme Court disciplines attorneys
The Miami Herald - Staff and Wire Reports - December 9, 2009

The Florida Supreme Court has recently disciplined the following South Florida lawyers, according to a press release from The Florida Bar. Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined.

Venol C. Adams, 5725 Corporate Way, Suite 210, West Palm Beach, suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Adams acted as the notary on two quit claim deeds that were not signed or acknowledged in his presence. One of the deeds was fraudulent. (Case No. SC09-836)

Eric Seymour Affholter, 1515 NE 51st St., Pompano Beach, suspended for two years retroactive to March 30, following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) Affholter was found guilty of a federal felony -- conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. (Case No. SC09-560)

Roger Besu, 14724 Breckness Place, Miami Lakes, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) During the course of representing a client, $4 million was delivered to Besu's trust account on behalf of the client. Besu subsequently transferred nearly $2 million from his trust account to personal and office accounts. The Bar has been unable to locate Besu. (Case No. SC09-598)

L. Daniel Ferrer, One Financial Plaza, Suite 2612, Fort Lauderdale, suspended effective immediately, following an Oct. 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1988) Ferrer had knowledge of persons committing securities fraud, but he failed to notify the authorities about the crime. He pleaded guilty in May 2009 to misprision of a felony and was sentenced to 21 months in prison. (Case No. SC09-1833)

Michael Sean Foster, P.O. Box 352663, Miami, suspended for three years, effective immediately, following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Foster was further placed on probation for two years. Foster accepted retainer fees in several cases, then failed to perform the legal services for which he was hired. In one instance, he charged a clearly excessive fee; in another, he did not inform clients of a conflict of interest. (Case No. SC09-145)

James Tyler Hendrick, 2641 Gulfview Dr., Key West, disbarred retroactive to April 9, 2007, following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1972) Hendrick was found guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. (Case No. SC07-438)

Frank Joseph Heston, 3300 N. University Dr., Suite 311, Coral Springs, suspended for 20 days, effective 30 days from an Oct. 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1973) In two separate cases, Heston was hired to represent clients and he failed to adequately provide legal services; he failed to communicate, failed to keep accurate records and failed to return documents. (Case No. SC09-1865)

Josie Kerrie-Ann James, 301 E. Las Olas Blvd., Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, publicly reprimanded following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) In February 2008, a former client filed a complaint against James with The Florida Bar. Thereafter, James failed to respond to repeated Florida Bar investigative inquiries. (Case No. SC09-34)

Marilyn Leslie Maloy, P.O. Box 640035, Miami, suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from an Oct. 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) Maloy is further placed on probation for two years, effective immediately. Maloy failed to properly maintain minimum trust accounting records. In one instance, checks for $179,446.46 and $15,761.65 from her trust account, were returned by the bank due to insufficient funds. Also, Maloy's failure to properly supervise non-lawyer employees resulted in the misappropriation of more than $1.5 million from the trust account. (Case No. SC09-477)

Rory Kenny Rohan, 900 Colony Point Circle, Apt. 310, Pembroke Pines, suspended for 90 days retroactive to March 5, following an Oct. 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1980) In 1993, Rohan pleaded guilty in federal court in Colorado to interstate travel in aid of racketeering, a felony. He was sentenced to 24 months incarceration and two years probation. (Case No. SC09-165)

Christian N. Scholin, 477 S. Rosemary Ave., Suite 319, West Palm Beach, suspended, until further order, following an Oct. 28 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) According to the petition for emergency suspension. Scholin appeared to be causing great public harm. A Bar audit revealed that Scholin misappropriated client funds including $468,000 in real estate proceeds. Also, he did not maintain minimum trust accounting records nor did he follow minimum trust accounting procedures. (Case No. SC09-1964)

Cynthia Gaskins Strickland, 2450 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 303 B, Hollywood, suspended until further order, following an Nov. 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2000) According to the petition for emergency suspension, Strickland appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client funds. A Bar audit revealed that during the period reviewed, Strickland had numerous overdrafts in her trust account. (Case No. SC09-1468)