Two Wheaton lawyers disciplined by Illinois Supreme Court
One Wheaton-based attorney was disbarred and another was placed on probation in the latest round of lawyer disciplinary orders filed by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Officials with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission said sanctions were imposed against Brian P. Lee and Thomas McGrath O'Connor because they engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
Lee, who has been licensed since Nov. 24, 1998, and practicing at 2100 Manchester Road in Wheaton, consented to being disbarred after he pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge in U.S. District Court, Southern District of California.
According to court filings, from June 2004 through June 2012, Lee bilked a couple in San Diego County out of more than $1 million.
The couple hired Lee to represent them in creating trusts and corporations and opening bank accounts in the name of those entities.
Between 2004 and 2012, Lee transferred the couple's funds into accounts over which he had exclusive control, and used those funds for personal purposes, authorities said.
In total, Lee obtained $1,015,754.21 from the couple and later made restitution of roughly $836,072.89.
Lee is expected to be sentenced in July 2015.
O'Connor, who has been licensed since Nov. 4, 1999, and practicing at 1776 B South Naperville Road in Wheaton, was suspended for two years, but the suspension is stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation.
According to court documents, O'Connor was convicted in February 2011 of driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to comply with the conditions of supervision imposed following that conviction, resulting in additional court proceedings.
O'Connor may continue practicing while on probation, but, officials said, any further scrapes with the law will result in the two-year suspension being enacted.
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission is an Illinois Supreme Court agency that investigates allegations of wrongdoing by Illinois attorneys, holds hearings on specific charges and recommends discipline where warranted.
The state Supreme Court is the only authority that can discipline lawyers for misconduct.