Victim of attorney theft reimbursed
Client received $613.49 from?Vienna lawyer over services not fulfilled
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The Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection has awarded $125,377.64 to 15 victims of attorney theft.
One of the cases involved the Trumbull County victim of a Vienna attorney.
Thirteen former or suspended Ohio attorneys were found to have misappropriated client funds. Six of the cases involved six suspended or former Cuyahoga County attorneys. Other cases involved attorneys in Butler, Franklin, Fulton, Licking and Summit counties.
In Trumbull County, a former client of suspended attorney John P. Lutseck was reimbursed $613.49 as a result of Lutseck's failure to provide the services requested. Lutseck, who had practiced in Vienna, was suspended in February from the practice of law in Ohio.
According to documents filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, Lutseck was in contempt for failing to explain why he took a retainer fee from a couple wanting visitation with their grandchild and didn't let them know about matters in the case. According to the complaint, the retainer was paid to Lutseck in March, but court papers in the case were not filed until September.
Also, multiple hearings were set and reset because the mother of the child did not show up to court. The grandparents said they never were told that attempts to reach the mother were unsuccessful, reports state.
Also, a former client of suspended Portage County attorney Gregory J. Wysin was reimbursed $3,500 as a result of Wysin's failure to provide the services requested. Last October, Wysin, who practiced in Kent, was suspended indefinitely from the practice of law in Ohio.
The Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, formerly known as the Clients' Security Fund, was created in 1985 by the Ohio Supreme Court to reimburse victims of attorney theft, embezzlement or misappropriation. The fund is built by fees from practicing attorneys, prosecutors and judges in Ohio, according to Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald J. Rice.