Summaries of Recent Supreme Court Decisions

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This page contains ARDC summaries of recent disciplinary decisions issued by the Supreme Court of Illinois. The ARDC summaries contain the name of each disciplined lawyer, the community in which that lawyer last practiced, a brief summary of the misconduct and the disciplinary sanction ordered by the Court. Unless otherwise noted, the mandate of discipline issued immediately.

The opinions, announcements, and orders by the Supreme Court may be reviewed under the Recent Decisions tab or at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.illinoiscourts.gov. For additional information concerning the summaries of recent decisions contact Steven Splitt at (312) 565-2600 or, within Illinois, at (800) 826-8625.

Please note: Some lawyers named as respondents in disciplinary proceedings may have names similar to other lawyers on the master roll of attorneys. To verify that a particular lawyer is the respondent named in a proceeding, please call the Clerk's Office of the ARDC at (312) 565-2600 or within Illinois at (800) 826-8625.


Oceanside, California
Attorney Number: 6225002
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Ms. George was licensed in Illinois in 1994 and in California in 2000. The Supreme Court of California disbarred her based on her plea of nolo contendere to the crime of felony battery in Florida. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred her.

Denver, Colorado
Attorney Number: 6318303
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Riegerix was licensed in Illinois in 2014 and in Colorado in 2019. Colorado disciplinary authorities suspended him for six months and required him to petition for reinstatement for neglecting a client's civil litigation, which resulted in dismissal of the case, and not informing the client of the dismissal, not adequately communicating with separate clients in a personal injury case, and allowing a suspended colleague to advise those clients about their case. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended Mr. Riegerix for six months and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Colorado. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

New Orleans, Louisiana
Attorney Number: 6311106
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Ms. Johnson was licensed in Louisiana in 2010, in Illinois in 2013, and in Colorado in 2021. The Supreme Court of Louisiana suspended her for one year, retroactive to October 12, 2023, and with certain conditions, for fabricating an email message, making a frivolous claim, and making false statements to a court and her opposing counsel in a civil proceeding. The Supreme Court of Colorado imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for one year, effective May 28, 2024. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for one year and until she is reinstated in both Louisiana and Colorado. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Taylorville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6305013
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Rahar, who was licensed in 2011, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after 30 days by a one-year period of probation with conditions. He did not return a former client's file and $97 in unearned fees, and he participated in court proceedings for approximately two months after being removed from the roll of attorneys for not completing his Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Waukegan, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6326645
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Buckley, who was licensed in 2017, was suspended for nine months. He met a 17-year-old girl at the McHenry County courthouse, met up with her at the courthouse again after she turned 18 years old, and took her to a hotel after purchasing condoms and a bottle of cognac. After the girl passed out in the hotel room, Mr. Buckley took her to her home and left. He was convicted of the misdemeanor offenses of providing alcoholic liquor to a person under 21 years of age and renting a hotel room with the knowledge that the room would be used for the consumption of alcoholic liquor by a person under 21 years of age. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Skokie, Illinois
Attorney Number: 1646710
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Lewin, who was licensed in 1974, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after one year by a one-year term of probation with conditions. He made harassing, offensive, inappropriate, and lewd comments to court personnel and female attorneys in the Will County courthouse. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Crystal Lake, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6190246
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Zangara, who was licensed in 1985, was suspended for one year, with the suspension stayed after four months by a two-year period of probation with conditions. He misappropriated more than $74,000 from his client trust account that he should have been holding on behalf of clients and others for real estate escrows and earnest money deposits. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Springfield, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6279522
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Young, who was licensed in 2003, was suspended for 90 days. While serving as an Assistant Attorney General, he submitted false timesheets on at least 18 occasions. His timesheets reflected that he worked full days for the Illinois Attorney General's Office when in reality he was instead making court appearances on behalf of his wife, who is also an attorney. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6244415
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Cloutier was licensed in Illinois in 1998, and in Florida 2006. A Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court of Florida admonished him for not responding to a former client's complaint or to several letters from the Florida Bar investigating the complaint. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

Springfield, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6324729
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Swanson, who was licensed in 2016, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. While employed as an Assistant State's Attorney in Montgomery County, he possessed and used methamphetamine over a number of years, and operated motor vehicles with methamphetamine in his system. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6322500
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Ekechukwu, who was licensed in 2016, was suspended for eighteen months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after five months by a two-year period of probation with conditions. He neglected a client's child support case, then made several false statements to the client about the case's status, including fabricating a court order relating to the garnishment of the client's wages. He eventually acknowledged that he had neglected the case and entered into an agreement to pay more than $28,000 to the client, which he did not honor. The suspension is effective on December 10, 2024.

Aurora, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3012522
Order entered: November 19, 2024
Mr. Wienold, who was licensed in 1976, was censured. In a personal injury matter, he presented a witness for a deposition but failed to correct the witness' false testimony regarding the extent of his communications and meetings with the witness prior to the deposition.

Bartlett, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6317625
Order entered: October 17, 2024
Mr. Patel, who was licensed in 2014, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He is the subject of a three-count disciplinary complaint arising from his criminal convictions for aggravated battery and attempt criminal sexual assault.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6284580
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Goings, who was licensed in 2005, was disbarred. He was convicted in 2013 of fatally shooting his girlfriend and her ten-month-old daughter. He has been suspended on an interim basis since 2013.

Largo, Maryland
Attorney Number: 3128862
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Gardner was licensed in Illinois in 1981 and in the District of Columbia in 1990. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals indefinitely suspended him due to a medical disability. The Illinois Supreme Court reciprocally suspended him until he is reinstated to the practice of law in the District of Columbia.

Glenview, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6292215
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Ms. Caputa, who was licensed in 2007, was disbarred on consent. Between 2015 and 2019, she misappropriated at least $252,420 that she had been holding for several clients in connection with her representation of those clients in dissolution of marriage matters.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6309877
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Patel, who was licensed in 2012, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted in a California federal court of securities fraud and manipulative securities trading.

Miami, Florida
Attorney Number: 6319769
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. McCaughan was licensed in Florida in 2007 and in Illinois in 2015. The Supreme Court of Florida revoked his admission to the Florida bar with leave to seek readmission after five years after he was charged in federal court with receiving and attempting to receive child pornography. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Danville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6197891
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Miles, who was licensed in 1988, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court and until he makes restitution. He misappropriated $11,323 in interest income from a trust for which he had been acting as trustee. He did not appear for his disciplinary hearing. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Darien, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6201967
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Spadoni, who was licensed to practice law in 1989, was disbarred on consent. He defrauded a hospital of more than $622,000 and, as a result of that conduct, was criminally charged and found guilty of the offense of wire fraud.

Elgin, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6301751
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Jacobson, who was licensed in 2010, was suspended for one year. He made false statements regarding his legal experience in an application for a judicial appointment and, later, in an interview for a position as a trial attorney in a state's attorney's office. The suspension is effective on October 11, 2024.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6270729
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Thompson, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for three years, retroactive to the date of his March 18, 2022 interim suspension. Mr. Thompson, who was convicted in federal court of five counts of income tax fraud and two counts of making false statements to agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Whitestone, New York
Attorney Number: 6292305
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Ms. Arvanitakis was licensed in New York in 2003, and in Illinois in 2007. In December 2017, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, disbarred her based on her federal conviction for felony wire fraud. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred her.

LaSalle, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6187917
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Bertrand, who was licensed in 1984, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. He neglected a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of a client when he made no effort to serve the complaint on the defendant, then did not appear in court for ten status hearings in the case. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

North Barrington, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6243214
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Kaminski, who was licensed in 1997, was censured after he struck his wife, causing her injury. As a result of that conduct, he was criminally charged and found guilty of the offense of domestic battery.

Dallas, Texas
Attorney Number: 6335300
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Borochov, who was licensed in 2021, was censured. He failed to update his 2020 application for admission to the Illinois bar with information regarding his March 2021 arrest for violating a provision of the Texas Penal Code based on an incident with his dog.

Galesburg, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3124107
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Butts, who was licensed in 1979, was disbarred on consent. He misappropriated $14,245 in client funds in an estate matter, did not communicate with clients in two other matters, and did not return more than $6,000 in unearned fees in those latter two matters.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3125800
Order entered: September 20, 2024
Mr. Leving, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended for five months, with the suspension stayed after 60 days by a two-year period of conditional probation. Between June 2014 and October 2021, Mr. Leving charged and collected excessive legal fees in eight domestic relations matters. The suspension is effective on October 11, 2024.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6823
Order entered: June 18, 2024
Mr. Abramson, who was licensed in 1974, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois returned a fifteen-count superseding indictment charging him with various crimes including thirteen counts of making false statements in personal and corporate income tax filings.

Olney, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291403
Order entered: May 30, 2024
Mr. Bishop, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after he pled guilty to possession of cocaine and subsequently was charged with violating the terms of his probation by possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Henderson, Nevada
Attorney Number: 6310633
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Ms. Hale was licensed in Nevada in 2000 and in Illinois in 2013. Nevada disciplinary authorities publicly reprimanded her for a conflict of interest arising from her personal relationship with a physician she employed as an expert in three personal injury cases and for paying that physician for services from her trust account even though she did not have the appropriate clients' funds in the account. The Supreme Court of Illinois suspended Ms. Hale for 30 days in light of her two prior instances of reciprocal discipline in Illinois. The suspension is effective on June 13, 2024.

Gilroy, California
Attorney Number: 3126738
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Goldblatt was licensed in California in 1979 and in Illinois in 1980. The Supreme Court of California suspended him for one year, with the suspension stayed after 120 days by an eight- month term of probation after he was convicted of creating a public nuisance and using offensive words. Mr. Goldblatt was arrested for masturbating in his yard in view of a neighbor. Because Mr. Goldblatt is currently suspended from the practice of law in Illinois for prior misconduct, the Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and required him to demonstrate that he has successfully completed the terms of his California probation before seeking reinstatement to the practice of law in Illinois.

Carol Stream, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6210556
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Ms. Bryan was licensed in Illinois in 1992 and in Indiana in 2001. The Indiana Supreme Court suspended her for a period of not less than 180 days, without automatic reinstatement. She neglected to file a bankruptcy petition for a client, falsely told the client she had filed the petition, and did not return the client's file or refund any unearned fees. Ms. Bryan also produced to Indiana disciplinary authorities several letters that she claimed to have sent to her client, the contents of which were inconsistent with the written communications the client had received from her. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for six months and until further order of the Court. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Belleville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291446
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Caraway, who was licensed in 2007, was disbarred. He misappropriated more than $375,000 belonging to six different clients, including funds that were to be used for the benefit of a disabled adult and minor children. He also failed to refund a $3,500 unearned fee and made misrepresentations to a client in a separate breach of contract matter.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6315332
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Fakhouri, who was licensed in 2014, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after two years by one year of probation with conditions. He misappropriated a total of $281,152 that he was holding for clients and third parties in connection with the settlement of thirteen personal injury matters. The suspension is effective on June 13, 2024.

Plantation, Florida
Attorney Number: 6310797
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Nordt was licensed in Illinois in 2013 and in Florida in 1995. The Supreme Court of Florida suspended him for three years and required him to participate in the recovery program offered by Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., arising from his conviction for leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving personal injuries. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for three years and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Florida. The suspension is effective on June 13, 2024.

Downers Grove, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6302138
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Zaba, who was licensed in 2010, was suspended for 60 days. He incorporated a mortgage company in 2015, which required him to submit annual financial statements to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. For the years 2017 through 2022, he submitted financial statements that he falsely claimed had been prepared or audited by an accountant. The suspension is effective on June 13, 2024.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6289901
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Kehoskie, who was licensed in 2006, was suspended for six months, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation. Between 2015 and 2019, Mr. Kehoskie was involved in three incidents in which he was charged with domestic battery and other offenses. One of the criminal charges was dismissed after completion of a diversion program. In the other two matters, Mr. Kehoskie pled guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and was placed on probation.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6294661
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Azhari, who was licensed in 2007, was censured by the Court. He represented a client who was charged with telephone harassment in a criminal case and, while the representation was ongoing, he engaged in a sexual relationship with the client.

Northfield, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3122711
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Messner, who was licensed in 1978, was disbarred. Over a period of more than five years, he assisted his corporate client and its owner in committing tax fraud by hiding his clients’ taxable income from taxing authorities. He also hid his clients’ income from the attorney who represented the client’s wife in the owner’s ongoing dissolution of marriage case.

Bloomington, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6192224
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Oltman, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. He misappropriated approximately $31,000 in settlement funds in three subrogation matters; neglected four additional subrogation matters, which caused them to be dismissed for want of prosecution; and did not inform the clients of the dismissals or respond to their requests for information. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Champaign, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6184207
Order entered: May 23, 2024
Mr. Cottrell, who was licensed in 1983, was reprimanded. He purchased a retiring attorney’s law practice and accepted the responsibility to distribute $2,902 that was held in that attorney’s trust account and that belonged to various third parties associated with cases involving the retiring attorney’s law practice. He deposited those funds into his own trust account but later knowingly used the funds for his own benefit.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6284533
Order entered: April 16, 2024
Mr. Ogoke, who was licensed in 2005, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He is the subject of a 12-count disciplinary complaint alleging that, after the Board of Immigration Appeals suspended him from practicing before the Board, the Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security, he filed notices of appearance on behalf of 11 immigration clients falsely stating that he was not then the subject of any order suspending or otherwise restricting him in the practice of law, and that he subsequently represented the 11 clients in their immigration matters.

Gross Point, Michigan
Attorney Number: 6199883
Order entered: April 12, 2024
Mr. Dailey, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court based on allegations in a pending disciplinary action that he dishonestly misappropriated more than $700,000 from numerous clients in various types of legal matters and failed to respond to lawful demands for information from the ARDC.

St. Petersburg, Florida
Attorney Number: 6272956
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Romero, who was licensed in 2000, was disbarred. While representing a client in a personal injury matter, he dishonestly misappropriated $56,000 in fees owed to another attorney for her substantial work on the case, and he knowingly disobeyed several court orders requiring him to pay over the funds.

Gurnee, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6187296
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Kiss, who was licensed in 1984, was suspended from the practice of law for six months and until further order of the Court. He provided financial assistance totaling $2,666 to a client for personal expenses that were not court costs or litigation expenses, failed to safeguard $929 of the same client's settlement funds, and failed to maintain the required accounting records for his client trust account. He did not appear at his disciplinary hearing. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Wheaton, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6183355
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Moore, who was licensed in 1982, was suspended from the practice of law for eighteen months, with the suspension stayed after six months by a one-year period of conditional probation. He misappropriated at least $8,803 in funds that belonged to a client and/or third parties in a personal injury matter, and he continued to appear in cases and hold himself out as an attorney after his name had been removed from the roll of attorneys for failure to complete Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements. The suspension is effective on April 9, 2024.

Hazel Crest, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6310211
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Solomon, who was licensed in 2012, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after five months by one year of probation with conditions. He neglected a foreclosure matter for couple and misappropriated a total of $12,400 of that same couple's funds over a period of at least four years. The suspension is effective on April 9, 2024.

St. Louis, Missouri
Attorney Number: 6326537
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Allen, who was licensed in 2017, was disbarred on consent. He pled guilty to two counts of attempt official misconduct for incidents that occurred while he was an Assistant State's Attorney in Coles County. He solicited sexual acts from two criminal defendants by telling them that they would receive preferential treatment in their cases in exchange for the sexual acts.

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3122606
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. DeFranco, who was licensed in 1978, was disbarred. He dishonestly converted $161,608 that he had agreed to hold in connection with the sale of two businesses involved in a guardianship proceeding, and he took a $180,000 loan from a client without explaining the terms of the transaction to the client, advising her that she could seek the advice of independent counsel about the transaction, or obtaining her informed consent to the transaction in writing.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attorney Number: 6294605
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Ms. Tuliszewski, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court. After being removed from the roll of attorneys for failing to comply with her Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements, Ms. Tuliszewski falsely told her employer, orally and in a sworn declaration, that she was authorized to practice law in Illinois. She did not cooperate in the ARDC's investigation of her conduct or participate in her disciplinary hearing. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Downers Grove, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6196871
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Hyzy, who was licensed in 1987, was disbarred on consent. In the course of representing clients in personal injury matters, he misappropriated more than $345,000 in settlement funds belonging to the clients and to third parties, settled one client's claim without the client's knowledge or authority, and falsely told two clients that their claims were pending when the claims had already been settled.

Austin, Texas
Attorney Number: 6231047
Order entered: March 19, 2024
Mr. Kinzy was licensed in Illinois in 1996 and in Texas in 1997. Texas disciplinary authorities suspended him for two years, with the suspension fully stayed by a period of probation subject to conditions, for neglecting a client's immigration matter and not complying with the client's requests to return his case file and provide an accounting of the fees he had earned. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for two years, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of probation, nunc pro tunc to July 1, 2023, subject to the conditions imposed in Texas and continuing until he successfully completes his Texas probation.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Attorney Number: 6271777
Order entered: March 12, 2024
Ms. Lowery, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court based on allegations in a pending disciplinary action that she filed a pleading in the Illinois Supreme Court containing false statements about the integrity of a circuit court judge and the supreme court's justices, made social media posts containing false statements about the integrity of various judges, and filed pleadings in the pending disciplinary matter containing false statements about the integrity of supreme court justices and a volunteer ARDC Hearing Board Chairperson.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6315108
Order entered: February 5, 2024
Mr. Palma, who was licensed in 2014, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after he was found guilty of wire fraud in a federal court in Illinois. The wire fraud stemmed from Mr. Palma's false representations to persons who were investing in what they thought were real estate development deals in Italy.

Schaumburg, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6311031
Order entered: January 23, 2024
Mr. Chhabria, who was licensed in 2013, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after he pled guilty in a federal court in New York to one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6221017
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Broderick, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for five months. He falsely represented to a court that he had been unable to file a motion because he had been admitted to the hospital and, thereafter, he altered dates on pre-existing medical records and submitted those falsified records to the court in order to support his earlier false statement. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2024.

Morton, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6305599
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Casey, who was licensed in 2011, was suspended from the practice of law for one year and until further order of the Court. While representing a client in a matter alleging elder abuse against a couple, he made false statements regarding his client's intentions in a settlement demand letter and threatened to file criminal charges against the couple unless they settled the claim. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Decatur, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6189680
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Jackson, who was licensed in 1985, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. While representing his biological brother in first-degree murder trial, Respondent made a number of false statements, in pleadings and orally at hearings, that were critical of the integrity and qualifications of judges. He also made insulting statements about opposing counsel. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Sterling, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6272005
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Burall, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court and until he makes restitution to a client for fees she paid to a second attorney. He submitted a certification falsely claiming that he had completed his Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements, and, following his subsequent removal from the roll of attorneys for failing to complete MCLE requirements, he engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by continuing to represent clients. He also neglected one client's dissolution matter, forcing her to retain a new attorney to complete the case. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Alton, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6187219
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Miller, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1984, was disbarred on consent after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of theft and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer. He took possession of property he knew had been stolen from two homes and attempted to sell it, and he made a false statement to police investigating the burglaries.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6257692
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Will, who was licensed in 1999, was censured. He agreed to represent an incarcerated client in filing a clemency petition but never filed the petition. He then falsely told the client's wife, several times, that he had filed the petition before stopping all communication with the client and his wife.

Bridgeton, Missouri
Attorney Number: 6315670
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Purcell was licensed in Missouri in 2013 and in Illinois in 2014. The Supreme Court of Missouri disbarred him after he pled guilty to misdemeanor stealing without consent in St. Louis County for having falsely represented to the City of Bridgeton, Missouri, that he was a resident of the ward from which he had been elected city councilman, and having received a salary for that position. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6320628
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Franklin, who was licensed in 2015, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety in favor of an 18-month period of probation. His discipline arose in part from his 2022 guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance and in part from his use of a false driver's license to rent a U.S. post office box under a fictious name so as to conceal his receipt of illegal drugs.

Naperville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6196963
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Gaca, who was licensed in 1987, was suspended for one year. While representing himself and his wife in a civil dispute involving claims that he operated an illegal boarding house, he made false statements about who resided in the house in various court pleadings. He also filed lawsuits concerning the dispute after he had registered as retired and was no longer authorized to practice law. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2024.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6278870
Order entered: January 17, 2024
Mr. Herrington, who was licensed in 2003, was disbarred on consent after having pled guilty to a charge of criminal trespass to a motor vehicle. Mr. Herrington took possession of a parked Chicago Fire Department ambulance and drove it approximately 60 miles to Grundy County while ignoring police efforts to stop him.

Oak Park, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6211359
Order entered: November 21, 2023
Mr. Ruggiero, who was licensed in 1992, was disbarred. He dishonestly misappropriated $291,944 in trust assets while acting as trustee for his deceased aunt's trust.

Roscoe, Illinois
Attorney Number: 2718189
Order entered: November 21, 2023
Mr. Steinback, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for 30 days. While representing a defendant in a federal criminal case in Iowa, he allowed his legal assistant to file a motion seeking to continue a sentencing hearing based on false statements that Mr. Steinback could not attend the hearing because he had been treated at an emergency room and had been advised not to travel for the next four to seven days. Mr. Steinback failed to correct the false statements of material fact made in the motion. The suspension is effective on December 12, 2023.

Bethesda, Maryland
Attorney Number: 6288733
Order entered: November 21, 2023
Mr. Zeas was licensed to practice in New York in 2003 and in Illinois in 2006. In July 2019, the Supreme Court of New York entered an order disbarring him based on his felony conviction for child pornography. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6328469
Order entered: November 21, 2023
Ms. Dowdy, who was licensed in 2018, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after 30 days in favor of a one-year period of conditional probation. Following her removal from the roll of attorneys for failing to comply with Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements, she did not inform her clients about her removal, terminate her representation, or refund unearned fees to her clients. The suspension is effective on December 12, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6205813
Order entered: November 21, 2023
Mr. Peters, who was licensed in 1991, was suspended for 90 days. He pled no contest to a charge of soliciting for prostitution. He thereafter made a false statement to the ARDC regarding the circumstances of his arrest. The suspension is effective on December 12, 2023.

Rock Island, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6208540
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Schultz, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court, and was required to pay $6,000 restitution to a client. He engaged in a conflict of interest by drafting estate planning documents for an elderly woman, at the direction of the woman's nephew, which documents benefitted the nephew. He also collected an unreasonable fee of $6,000 from the woman. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chino, California
Attorney Number: 6282355
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Iler was licensed in Illinois in 2004 and in California in 2005. The Supreme Court of California suspended him for three years, with the suspension stayed by a three-year period of probation, subject to conditions, including that he be suspended for a minimum of the first 15 months of the period of probation and until he provides proof of rehabilitation to the State Bar Court. He violated several terms of a previous California order of discipline, including not timely submitting quarterly reports, not providing proof of his participation in an ethics class, and not filing an affidavit regarding notification to clients of his prior discipline. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for 15 months and until further order of the Court. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Barrington, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6193077
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Belconis, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended for three years, retroactive to September 17, 2019. He was convicted in federal court of knowingly participating in a fraudulent real estate scheme by using false statements to close real estate transactions and by concealing relevant information from lenders to influence their lending decisions.

St. Louis, Missouri
Attorney Number: 6284877
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Hester was licensed in Illinois in 2005 and in Missouri in 2004. The Supreme Court of Missouri disbarred him for, over a course of years, misappropriating an unknown but significant amount of money and having clients sign misleading contingent fee agreements and inaccurate settlement statements. He also obstructed and engaged in deceptive practices during his Missouri disciplinary proceedings. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6225090
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Gurvey, who was licensed in 1994, was disbarred. During the time he was the subject of a prior attorney disciplinary proceeding, he misappropriated $25,000 he had agreed to hold in connection with a real estate transaction.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6192345
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Martin, who was licensed in 1986, was disbarred on consent. She intentionally used for her own purposes more than $240,000 she had agreed to hold for an elderly relative who was residing in a nursing home, made false statements to the physician who held her relative's power of attorney about the balances in his bank and investment accounts, and did not produce documents in response to an ARDC subpoena.

Belleville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291446
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Caraway, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended from the practice of law for one year and until further order of the Court. He misappropriated $4,634 belonging to his client in a personal injury matter, falsely told the client that he had paid a lienholder, and failed to prepare or maintain appropriate trust account records. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Hermitage, Tennessee
Attorney Number: 910910
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Gant was licensed in Illinois in 1975 and in Tennessee in 2006. Tennessee disciplinary authorities censured him for improperly disclosing confidential information about a client he represented in a criminal matter, failing to inform his client that he had disclosed the information, engaging in a conflict of interest, and failing to report another attorney's misconduct. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and censured him.

Downers Grove, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6308002
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. McGinn, who was licensed in 2012, was disbarred on consent. Between 2020 and 2022, in the course of representing 26 clients in personal injury matters, he misappropriated more than $106,000 that was due those clients or their medical providers.

Key West, Florida
Attorney Number: 6209105
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Boscamp, who was licensed in 1992, was disbarred. She misappropriated $51,850 in trust assets while acting as co-trustee for a trust, knowingly offered evidence that she knew to be false in a guardianship proceeding, and made a false statement under oath to the ARDC.

Decatur, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3030628
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Willoughby, who was licensed in 1973, was disbarred on consent. He did not competently and diligently handle several civil matters and a criminal case. He also failed to communicate with his clients in those matters, failed to return over $10,000 in unearned fees, and engaged in the unauthorized practice of law on two occasions in the criminal case by appearing in court after he had been removed from the roll of attorneys for failing to register.

La Grange Highlands, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291301
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Kowalski, who was licensed in 2007, was disbarred on consent. She was convicted of concealing assets from a bankruptcy trustee when she and her brother made fraudulent representations, claims and promises in her brother's bankruptcy petition and accompanying documents, and when she used her client trust account to conceal from her brother's creditors and the trustee hundreds of thousands of dollars that were part of her brother's bankruptcy estate.

Henderson, Nevada
Attorney Number: 6310633
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Hale was licensed in Nevada in 2000 and in Illinois in 2013. The Supreme Court of Nevada publicly reprimanded her for prematurely taking attorney's fees from funds she held in trust and for failing to promptly pay funds to a client and lienholders. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and censured Ms. Hale.

Queen Creek, Arizona
Attorney Number: 6210437
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Wittig was licensed in Illinois in 1992 and in Arizona in 1997. Arizona disciplinary authorities reprimanded Mr. Wittig and placed him on probation for one year. He did not diligently represent a client, or adequately communicate with her, in litigation regarding whether the client's minor son would be allowed to move out of state with his father. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and censured him and placed him on probation subject to the conditions imposed in Arizona and continuing until his Arizona probation is completed.

Macon, Missouri
Attorney Number: 6230076
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Prewitt was licensed in Illinois in 1995 and in Missouri in 1992. The Missouri Supreme Court indefinitely suspended him, with no leave to apply for reinstatement for two years, for threatening to file an ethics complaint against his potential opponent in a judicial election and to reveal details of the infidelity of his potential opponent's spouse in an attempt to dissuade her from running against him in the election. He also threatened to reveal a former client's confidences as part of that latter threat. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for two years and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Missouri. The suspension is effective on October 12, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291928
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Rollins, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended for five months. He attempted to defraud his fellow law firm members about the amount of capital he had contributed to their start-up law firm. The suspension is effective on October 12, 2023.

Sugar Grove, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6284365
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Motta, who was licensed in 2004, was suspended for 90 days, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a one-year period of probation with conditions. In an Illinois criminal trial, she repeatedly interrupted the judge and muttered an obscenity in response to the judge overruling an objection. She also took photos during the prosecutor's closing argument despite a ban on photos in the courtroom. In a Nebraska criminal matter, she publicly disseminated DNA results from evidence to news outlets in violation of a previous protective order issued by the court.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6308628
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Boyle, who was licensed in 2012, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a four-year term of probation with conditions. He did not diligently represent clients in six matters, did not adequately communicate with those clients, failed to return $21,500 in unearned fees, and made a misrepresentation to one client about the status of his matter.

Northbrook, Illinois
Attorney Number: 2604825
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Silets, who was licensed in 1973, was disbarred on consent. He represented indigent defendants by court appointment and submitted hundreds of fee petitions to the court, many of which overstated the hours he worked on cases.

Chesterfield, Missouri
Attorney Number: 6200483
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Scanlon, who was licensed in 1989, was disbarred on consent. He misappropriated over $88,000 in settlement funds he was holding for a personal injury client and a lienholder in the client's case.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6244911
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Weaver was licensed in Illinois in 1998 and in Missouri in 1997. The Missouri Supreme Court suspended him for three years, with the suspension stayed by a three-year period of conditional probation, for mishandling his client trust account, including by commingling client funds with earned fees and failing to regularly reconcile the account. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for three years, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a three-year period of probation, nunc pro tunc to March 7, 2023, subject to the conditions imposed in Missouri and continuing until he successfully completes his Missouri probation.

Palos Heights, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6272492
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Kantas, who was licensed in 2000, was disbarred on consent. In the course of representing clients in personal injury matters, he misled five clients regarding the status of their matters; made false statements to his clients and the court about the progress of matters; and created false settlement negotiation communications, pleadings, and court orders to support his false statements.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6306849
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Ms. Roebke, who was licensed in 2011, was disbarred on consent. She misappropriated $34,702 in funds she received in connection with 12 clients' business litigation matters and misrepresented her actions to her employer and others by making false statements and creating false documents and e-mails to conceal her actions.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6206863
Order entered: September 21, 2023
Mr. Erdos, who was licensed in 1991, was disbarred on consent. In the course of representing two clients in trust and estate matters, he dishonestly converted $849,476 in client funds, charged and collected unreasonable fees totaling $110,944, and made false statements regarding his use of trust assets.

Burbank, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6204953
Order entered: September 19, 2023
Mr. Limperis, who was licensed in 1990, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. He entered into an agreement with a client to buy the client's home without the required disclosure of how their interests conflicted; he signed another attorney's name to a real estate contract without that attorney's knowledge or authorization; he prepared an attorney's lien containing false information about legal fees he claimed to have earned; and he filed the lien to help his client fraudulently manipulate the price of the client's home at a foreclosure sale. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Quincy, Illinois
Attorney Number: 1818732
Order entered: July 17, 2023
Mr. McClain, who was licensed in 1975, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after he was convicted in federal court of nine counts of bribery conspiracy, bribery, and willful falsification of records.

Barrington, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6201809
Order entered: July 14, 2023
Ms. Pramaggiore, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after she was convicted in federal court of nine counts of bribery conspiracy, bribery, and willful falsification of records.

Bloomington, Illinois
Attorney Number: 3124355
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Ginzkey, who was licensed in 1979, was censured. In the course of representing a client in a medical malpractice matter, he knowingly provided privileged documents to an expert witness in violation of a court order.

Farmington, Michigan
Attorney Number: 6285392
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Ziadeh was licensed in Michigan in 2002 and in Illinois in 2005. A Michigan Attorney Discipline Board reprimanded him for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

Seattle, Washington
Attorney Number: 1383485
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Ms. Kahr, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1974, was disbarred after having been convicted of two counts of theft in the state of Washington and sentenced to 18 months in prison. She misappropriated more than $280,000 from a disabled person while serving as his guardian.

Champaign, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6313706
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Peek, who was licensed in 2013, was suspended for six months and until he makes restitution or provides proof of a settlement with his former clients and consistent compliance with the terms of any such settlement. In two matters, he failed to act with reasonable diligence and did not communicate with his clients. He also failed to promptly deliver 13 garnishment checks owed to a client or respond to the client's inquiries about the checks. Finally, he made gratuitous comments of a sexual nature to opposing counsel and a paralegal in a domestic relations matter. The suspension is effective on June 6, 2023.

Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6287655
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Wendorf, who was licensed in 2005, was censured. He was found guilty of one count of battery based on his groping a woman who came to his law office to discuss a criminal case in which he was representing her.

South Elgin, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291356
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Ms. Grimm, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. While working for a transportation company, she failed to diligently handle a matter and made false statements to her manager about her purported work on four matters. While later working for a law firm, she made false statements to the firm about her work and used the firm's credit card without authority for personal purchases totaling almost $2,000. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Orland Park, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6290732
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Shalabi, who was licensed in 2006, was suspended for 60 days and required to complete the ARDC Professionalism Seminar within one year of the Court's order of discipline. He entered into a business transaction with clients without obtaining the clients' informed consent and without advising them to seek independent counsel. He also filed pleadings for a client in a federal court where he was not licensed to practice and then, before refunding fees, had the client sign a document agreeing not to file a disciplinary complaint against him. The suspension is effective on June 6, 2023.

Sterling, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6180310
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Lancaster, who was licensed in 1981, was disbarred. He was convicted of battery for making physical and sexual contact with a female client while she was in his law office.

St. Charles, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6200430
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Acosta, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for one year. He misappropriated $86,912 of client funds to his own benefit, including $39,000 that a court had ordered him to safeguard for a client who was a minor. The suspension is effective on June 6, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6285741
Order entered: May 16, 2023
Mr. Berliner, who was licensed in 2005, was disbarred. He misappropriated more than $198,000 in escrow funds from five clients and used the money for his own purposes or to replace funds he took from other clients. He also made false statements to the ARDC and subsequently refused to cooperate with the ARDC's investigation.

Las Vegas, Nevada
Attorney Number: 6182794
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Hamilton was licensed to practice in Illinois in 1982 and in Nevada in 2001. The Supreme Court of Nevada disbarred him for failing to comply with conditions of probation imposed in three prior Nevada disciplinary proceedings. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Palatine, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6280536
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Manges, who was licensed in 2003, was disbarred for forging his employer's signature on hundreds of checks payable to the employer or his law firm, and for using the proceeds of those checks, more than $165,000, for his own purposes without authority.

Elgin, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6287872
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. McNulty, who was licensed in 2006, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation. His discipline arose from his 2022 guilty plea to driving under the influence of alcohol and without a driver's license.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6257328
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Schwartz, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court and until he makes restitution of $1,000 to a client. He failed to appropriately pursue two criminal appeals and an employment matter, refused to refund $1,000 in unearned fees, and did not participate in his disciplinary proceeding. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Peoria, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6285393
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Ms. Williams, who was licensed in 2005, was suspended for 90 days after she pled guilty to forgery for submitting a falsified public service worksheet to a court services office in an attempt to show that she had complied with her sentence for a speeding infraction. The suspension is effective on April 11, 2023.

Tucson, Arizona
Attorney Number: 6276934
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Morgan was licensed in Illinois in 2002 and admitted as in-house counsel in Arizona in 2019. Arizona attorney discipline authorities admonished him for engaging in the practice of law in Arizona without timely registering as in-house counsel. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6303022
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Casper, who was licensed in 2010, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after 60 days by a two-year period of probation with conditions. While representing a group of employees in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Chicago and various individual defendants, Mr. Casper called one of the defendants whom he knew to be represented by counsel and had an approximately 20-minute conversation about the case. He later falsely stated to that defendant's counsel that he made no such call, altered his cell phone records to make it appear as though he did not make the call, and sent those altered records to the defendant's attorney. He also filed the altered records, along with a sworn declaration falsely claiming that they were accurate, with the court. The suspension is effective on April 11, 2023.

Lincolnshire, Illinois
Attorney Number: 377317
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Campbell, who was licensed in 1969, was suspended for 90 days. He did not diligently represent a client in a medical malpractice action, resulting in the case being dismissed for want of prosecution. He then falsely led his client to believe that her case was still pending. The suspension is effective on April 11, 2023.

Edwardsville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6200459
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Wigginton, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a three-year period of probation with conditions. Between 2017 and 2019, Mr. Wigginton was arrested three times for driving under the influence (DUI) in Madison County. In the first case, Mr. Wigginton pled guilty to DUI and received court supervision. The second and third cases were resolved as part of a plea agreement in which he pled guilty to the second DUI charge and was sentenced to 24 months' probation, 160 hours of community service, and a $2,800 fine in return for the dismissal of the third case.

Peoria, Illinois
Attorney Number: 2711257
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Steagall, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. He engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by representing a client while he was suspended from the practice of law in state and federal court. In another matter, he failed to communicate with a client and did not return a $2,500 unearned fee. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6181744
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Spector, who was licensed in 1981, was suspended for 90 days. Over the course of 19 months, he represented nine clients in criminal matters after he had been removed from the roll of attorneys for failing to register with the Commission, pay his annual registration fee, and comply with Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements. The suspension is effective on April 11, 2023.

Geneva, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6208665
Order entered: March 21, 2023
Mr. Parsons, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. He dishonestly misappropriated over $69,000 in client funds in a probate matter. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6206474
Order entered: January 24, 2023
Mr. Abbas, who was licensed in Illinois in 1991, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after he was convicted of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of unlawful monetary transactions, one count of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. He was involved in a number of internet scams including “romance scams” in which he would use online dating profiles to have victims transfer money under false pretenses.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6290003
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Ms. Lane, who was licensed in 2006, was suspended for nine months, with the suspension stayed after six months by a six-month term of probation with conditions. While she was engaged in litigation in a federal court, Ms. Lane sent three e-mails containing false or reckless statements about a magistrate judge's integrity to the judge, courtroom personnel and another attorney involved in the case. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6291557
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Fromme, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. On at least 90 occasions, he used a credit card belonging to the real estate company for which he was in-house counsel to make unauthorized payments to merchant accounts he controlled. The payments totaled over $136,000. In addition, he misrepresented to the ARDC the amount of restitution he had paid to the credit card company. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6277289
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Cooper, who was licensed in 2002, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. He signed his personal injury client's name on a settlement release, falsely attested that he had witnessed his client's signature, used $36,641 of settlement funds without his client's authorization, and concealed his use of the client's funds. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6208136
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Ms. Sarnicki, who was licensed in 1991, was suspended for 30 days. She assisted a disbarred attorney in the unauthorized practice of law by representing an individual in a workers' compensation case without the individual's consent, thereby allowing the disbarred attorney to falsely represent himself to the individual as being able to practice law. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6215707
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Araujo, who was licensed in 1993, was disbarred for sexually harassing three women: a Chicago police officer, a court reporter and an Assistant State's Attorney, while he was acting as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge. The Illinois Courts Commission initiated a disciplinary matter against then-Judge Araujo based on this same misconduct and entered an oral ruling finding that he had committed the misconduct. Mr. Araujo, however, retired from the bench one month before the Courts Commission entered its written findings on the ruling, thereby preventing the Courts Commission from pursuing discipline against him.

Herrin, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6209596
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Bartelsmeyer, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. While acting as an attorney agent for Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. in connection with various real estate matters, he converted $11,123 belonging to ATG and provided altered bank statements to ATG in order to conceal his conversions. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Attorney Number: 6271777
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Ms. Lowery, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for 30 days and required to successfully complete the ARDC Professionalism Seminar within one year. She knowingly or recklessly made a false statement impugning the integrity of a judge and made false statements to the ARDC during her sworn statement. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Belvidere, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6185746
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Luchtenburg, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for 30 days. He engaged in a conflict of interest by representing a client in a dissolution of marriage case while also pursuing a romantic relationship with her. He also made false or misleading statements in connection with the Administrator's investigation of his conduct. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Homewood, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6314281
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Ms. Winbush, who was licensed in 2013, was suspended for 90 days and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of probation with conditions. A judge held her in contempt for failing to appear at multiple court dates in a dissolution of marriage matter. In another case, she failed to timely turn over a client file to new counsel and was sanctioned by the court for not complying with various court orders.

Rockford, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6271587
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Ms. Beran, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after 30 days by a two-year period of probation with conditions. She did not diligently handle two dissolution of marriage matters and one child custody matter, and she repeatedly failed to respond to clients' requests for information about their cases. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Tucson, Arizona
Attorney Number: 6313717
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Peterson, who was licensed in 2013, was suspended for six months. He agreed to the purported settlement of an underinsured motorist claim against his client, an insurance company, for $75,000 without the company's authorization, and repeatedly made false statements to his opposing counsel about the status of the purported settlement. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Attorney Number: 6333638
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Hall, who was licensed in 2019, was suspended for 60 days, with the suspension stayed after 30 days by a one-year period of probation with conditions. He recorded 277 hours in false time entries while working on a document review project for a large law firm. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2023.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6226455
Order entered: January 17, 2023
Mr. Semrad, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for 90 days and until further order of the Court. In 2012, Mr. Semrad was placed on court supervision for a misdemeanor driving-under-the-influence charge, and he was later convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Seattle, Washington
Attorney Number: 1383485
Order entered: December 2, 2022
Ms. Kahr, who was licensed in Illinois in 1974, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court after she was convicted in Washington of two counts of theft for having misappropriated more than $282,000 from a disabled man while serving as the man's guardian. She used the funds to satisfy her delinquent mortgage.

Oak Park, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6311937
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Ms. Murray, who was licensed in 2013, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court and until she completes the ARDC Professionalism Seminar. She took a $2,500 retainer to represent a client in a civil matter but did not pursue the matter, communicate with the client, or refund her unearned fee. She also failed to cooperate with the ARDC's investigation of her conduct. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Crystal Lake, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6269706
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Mr. Emerald, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for one year and until he makes restitution to a client. He delayed in filing a probate case and misled his client about the case's status. When he eventually opened the probate case, he forged the client's signature on documents and filed them with the court. He also forged the client's ex-spouse's signature on a document, although he did not file it with the court. The suspension is effective on December 14, 2022.

Belleville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6203242
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Mr. Duebbert, a former circuit court judge in St. Clair County who was licensed in 1990, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. In 2016 and 2107, he made false statements to the police and to the Judicial Inquiry Board about his contacts with a friend of his who was the subject of a criminal investigation. He has been suspended on an interim basis since July 13, 2020. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6186506
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Ms. Susman, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for five months, with the suspension stayed in full by one year of probation with conditions. She failed to diligently pursue two clients' immigration matters, did not adequately communicate with the clients, and failed to respond to the ARDC's requests for information.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6298166
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Ms. Yohanna, who was licensed in 2009, was suspended for six months. While working as an investigator for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability ("COPA") in Chicago, she repeatedly, and without authorization, accessed a private database of police records in violation of the terms of her employment. When an investigation ensued, she falsely reported that another COPA investigator, whom she wrongly suspected of having reported her misconduct, was planning on carrying out a mass shooting at the COPA office. The suspension is effective on December 14, 2022.

Fort Myer, Virginia
Attorney Number: 6238173
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Mr. Stone, who was licensed in 1996, was disbarred on consent for neglecting six client matters, failing to refund approximately $16,000 in unearned fees, and making misrepresentations to clients, a court and the ARDC regarding those matters and his health.

Chicago, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6225351
Order entered: November 23, 2022
Mr. Kolb, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for 30 days. Ten months after learning of his personal injury client's death, Mr. Kolb prepared and sent a letter to an insurance company demanding settlement for injuries and for "future pain and physical limitations." The insurance company made a counteroffer, and Mr. Kolb purported to enter into a settlement agreement despite never having taken steps to substitute the deceased client's estate as the claimant. He did so even though he knew that the insurance company was unaware that his client had died. The suspension is effective on December 14, 2022.