Editor's note: Attorneys who steal millions in client funds in the Probate Court of Cook County do not disappear, however remain to steal again and again. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Las Vegas attorney disappears with millions in client funds, State Bar alleges
Las Vegas attorney disappears with millions in client funds, State Bar alleges
Las Vegas probate attorney Robert Graham has stolen millions of dollars in client funds and abruptly abandoned his law practice, the State Bar of Nevada alleges in court documents. (Photo/Legal Information Institute)
Office closure and other notices on the main door of Robert Graham's office at Lawyers West on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Office closure and other notices on the main door of Robert Graham's office at Lawyers West on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Office closure notices on the main door of Robert Graham's office at Lawyers West on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Office closure and other notices on the main door of Robert Graham's office at Lawyers West on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Office closure and other notices on the main door of Robert Graham's office at Lawyers West on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Lawyers West sign inside Robert Graham's office on 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, in Las Vegas. Graham has abandoned his law practice and may have stolen millions of dollars, the State Bar alleges. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Longtime probate attorney Robert Graham has stolen millions of dollars in client funds and abruptly abandoned his law practice, the State Bar of Nevada alleges in a complaint.
The state bar says it learned Graham shut down his firm Dec. 2, firing employees and leaving behind client files.
An initial bar analysis of Graham’s accounting records shows that the firm should be holding more than $13 million in funds for his clients, Assistant Bar Counsel Janeen Isaacson said in the complaint.
“However, based on information provided to date, the balances of these accounts total much less than the more than $13 million respondent should be safekeeping for these clients,” Isaacson wrote.
His whereabouts are unknown, and a call to his Lawyers West office at 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. was disconnected before a message could be recorded. The firm’s website also has been taken down.
Graham was well-known for advertising his probate and estate law practice on television. He kept other law offices in Utah and Colorado. Additional efforts to reach Graham and his wife Linda, who is also a lawyer, were unsuccessful.
“Graham abandoned his clients’ files in rented office space from which his eviction appears to be imminent and made no arrangements for his clients’ continued representation,” the bar said in a Clark County district court filing earlier this week.
Late Friday, the Nevada Supreme Court, saying Graham “poses a substantial threat” of professional harm to the public, temporarily suspended his license while the state bar conducts disciplinary proceedings.
The bar complaint alleges Graham — a Brigham Young University law graduate and a member of the Nevada bar since 1992 — “misappropriated millions of dollars from his current and former trust, probate and estate clients.”
In its complaint, the state bar said Graham had “routinely and consistently” failed to distribute funds being held for clients and lied to them about the status of their funds.
Clark County Public Administrator John Cahill, whose office has worked with Graham on probate cases for the past decade, said Friday he was in “total shock” over Graham’s sudden departure.
“I don’t know any details,” Cahill said. “But he’s always done a great job for this office.”
Cahill said he emailed Graham earlier this week asking what happened, and Graham simply told him the bar would be getting other lawyers to take over his cases.
At the state bar’s request, District Judge Jennifer Togliatti appointed attorneys Jasen and Brandi Cassady to handle his cases.
Cassady said she spent the last three days removing the case files from Lawyers West and putting them in secure storage.
She said she wanted to assure his clients that her firm will give them whatever legal assistance they need.
“It’s a catastrophic loss for the clients,” she said. “They’ve been completely left without legal representation.”
Southern California probate lawyer Robert Wishner said he represents one client who considers herself a victim.
Wishner said his client, who he declined to identify, complained for months that Graham had not provided her with more than $464,000 in inheritance he was holding in a closed probate case stemming from her brother’s death in Las Vegas.
“He kept delaying and delaying,” Wishner said. “It’s very troubling. It certainly does not help the image of attorneys.”
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @JGermanRJ on
The state bar says it learned Graham shut down his firm Dec. 2, firing employees and leaving behind client files.
“However, based on information provided to date, the balances of these accounts total much less than the more than $13 million respondent should be safekeeping for these clients,” Isaacson wrote.
His whereabouts are unknown, and a call to his Lawyers West office at 10000 W. Charleston Blvd. was disconnected before a message could be recorded. The firm’s website also has been taken down.
Graham was well-known for advertising his probate and estate law practice on television. He kept other law offices in Utah and Colorado. Additional efforts to reach Graham and his wife Linda, who is also a lawyer, were unsuccessful.
“Graham abandoned his clients’ files in rented office space from which his eviction appears to be imminent and made no arrangements for his clients’ continued representation,” the bar said in a Clark County district court filing earlier this week.
Late Friday, the Nevada Supreme Court, saying Graham “poses a substantial threat” of professional harm to the public, temporarily suspended his license while the state bar conducts disciplinary proceedings.
The bar complaint alleges Graham — a Brigham Young University law graduate and a member of the Nevada bar since 1992 — “misappropriated millions of dollars from his current and former trust, probate and estate clients.”
In its complaint, the state bar said Graham had “routinely and consistently” failed to distribute funds being held for clients and lied to them about the status of their funds.
Clark County Public Administrator John Cahill, whose office has worked with Graham on probate cases for the past decade, said Friday he was in “total shock” over Graham’s sudden departure.
“I don’t know any details,” Cahill said. “But he’s always done a great job for this office.”
Cahill said he emailed Graham earlier this week asking what happened, and Graham simply told him the bar would be getting other lawyers to take over his cases.
At the state bar’s request, District Judge Jennifer Togliatti appointed attorneys Jasen and Brandi Cassady to handle his cases.
Cassady said she spent the last three days removing the case files from Lawyers West and putting them in secure storage.
She said she wanted to assure his clients that her firm will give them whatever legal assistance they need.
“It’s a catastrophic loss for the clients,” she said. “They’ve been completely left without legal representation.”
Southern California probate lawyer Robert Wishner said he represents one client who considers herself a victim.
Wishner said his client, who he declined to identify, complained for months that Graham had not provided her with more than $464,000 in inheritance he was holding in a closed probate case stemming from her brother’s death in Las Vegas.
“He kept delaying and delaying,” Wishner said. “It’s very troubling. It certainly does not help the image of attorneys.”
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @JGermanRJ on
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