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Cincinnati Attorney Indefinitely Suspended

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2009-1917.  Cincinnati Bar Assn. v. Newman, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-5034.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-041.  George W. Newman III, Attorney Registration No. 0050769, is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio.
Brown, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-5034.pdf Adobe PDF Link opens new window.

(Oct. 21, 2010) The Supreme Court of Ohio today indefinitely suspended the law license of Cincinnati attorney George W. Newman III for misconduct that resulted in his convictions on three counts of felony theft.

In a 7-0 per curiam opinion, the Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Newman engaged in a scheme in which he deposited checks drawn on bank accounts that had been closed or accounts with insufficient funds into other bank accounts, and then made cash withdrawals from the latter, artificially inflated accounts. These transactions resulted in losses of $5,809 to Fifth Third Bank, $11,804 to U.S. Bank, and $4,459 to Huntington Bank.

Newman entered guilty pleas to three counts of theft, felonies of the 5th degree. He was sentenced to three years of community control and ordered to pay restitution to the banks he had defrauded. His law license has been under an interim suspension since the Supreme Court was notified of his felony convictions in February 2009. 

In today’s decision, the Court unanimously accepted the disciplinary board’s conclusions that Newman’s conduct violated the rules of professional conduct that prohibit an attorney from engaging in illegal acts that adversely reflect on his honesty or trustworthiness; and require attorneys to respond to a demand for information from a disciplinary authority and to report their own rule violations to disciplinary authorities.

Contacts
Naomi Dallob, 513.762.6946, for the Cincinnati Bar Association.

No current contact information available for George W. Newman III.