New Jersey. Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
On this date, in the Garden State, the Supreme Court of New Jersey suspended lawyer James V. Simmonds as a consequence of his suspension in the State of New York for one year for fraudulent conduct in authorizing a client to sign a false letter to a lender saying that Respondent was holding an escrow in a real estate matter.
When the lender inquired of Respondent to verify the deposit, Respondent again allowed the client to draft a second letter again falsely representing that Respondent was holding approximately $67,000 when, in fact, he was not. That letter was then provided to the lender.
Richard J. Engelhardt, Esquire appeared before the Discipline Review Board for the Office of Attorney Ethics.
Simmonds waived appearance.
Were any of Mr. Simmonds’ clients injured as a consequence of his actions? If so, are those who were injured satisfied with the discipline imposed in this case? Has restitution been made?
Have there been any other instances of misconduct by Mr. Simmonds that haven’t been addressed by Office of Attorney Ethics?
