Thursday, September 19, 2013

ARDC Complaint about Curt Patrick Rehberg of Crystal Lake

BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD
OF THE
ILLINOIS ATTORNEY REGISTRATION
AND
DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION
In the Matter of:
CURT PATRICK REHBERG,
Attorney-Respondent,
No. 6201832.
Commission No. 2013PR00113
FILED --- September 18, 2013

COMPLAINT
Jerome Larkin, Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, by his attorney, Scott Renfroe, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 753(b), complains of Respondent Curt Patrick Rehberg, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois on November 9, 1989, and alleges that Respondent has engaged in the following conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute, and which subjects Respondent to discipline pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 770:
COUNT I
(Conversion of $468,475 from Koch Trust)
1. On November 2, 2012, Marion Koch died testate, leaving behind a will and a trust that had been drafted by Respondent. Prior to her death, Ms. Koch had been the trustee of the Marion P. Koch Trust, which held various annuities and other investments with the RiverSource Life Insurance Company and Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Upon Ms. Koch’s death, her nephew Martin R. Ochwat became the successor trustee of the Koch Trust. Sometime thereafter, Respondent agreed to represent Ochwat in matters relating to the gathering and distribution of Koch Trust assets.
2. Between December 10, 2012 and January 11, 2013, Ochwat received a series of checks from RiverSource or Ameriprise distributing assets of the Koch Trust. Ochwat gave each of those checks, totaling $468,475.99, to Respondent to hold for the Koch Trust.
3. Between approximately December 10, 2012 and January 12, 2013, Respondent deposited the checks referred to in paragraph two, above, into an account he maintained at the Home State Bank in Crystal Lake, Illinois. That account, which ended in the four digits "5601," was entitled "Curt P. Rehberg and Assoc. PC LTFA" (hereinafter "client fund account"), and was used by Respondent as the depository of funds belonging to clients, to third persons, and, presently or potentially, to Respondent.
4. As of August 22, 2013, Respondent had not distributed any of the Koch Trust’s assets to Ochwat or to any other beneficiaries of the Trust, nor had he obtained authority from Ochwat or from anyone else to use those assets for any purposes unrelated to the Koch Trust.
5. Between December 10, 2012 and August 22, 2013, Respondent drew checks or made other withdrawals from his client fund account in payment of Respondent’s own business or personal obligations. As of August 23, 2013, Respondent’s activities had overdrawn his client fund account by $3,519.19. As a result, Respondent had used, without authority, $468,475.99 of assets belonging to the Koch Trust.
6. By reason of the conduct described above, Respondent has engaged in the following misconduct:
a. conversion;
b. conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, in violation of Rule 8.4(c) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (2010);
c. conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, in violation of Rule 8.4(d) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (2010); and
d. conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice, or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute.
COUNT II
(Conversion of $175,644 from Hanson Estate)
7. On December 4, 2011, Suzanne N. Hanson died testate, leaving behind an estate that consisted of an investment account, other personal property, and her interest in a house located on Timber Terrace in Cary, Illinois. Sometime thereafter, Respondent agreed to represent Hanson’s son, David Hanson, in matters relating to the gathering and distribution of the assets of Suzanne Hanson’s estate. David Hanson, his brother Steven Hanson and his sister Sandra Hanson were the estate’s only three beneficiaries.
8. On June 6, 2013, Respondent received a check, number 047801155, that had been drawn on an account of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC and made payable to Respondent’s order in the amount of $213,845.99. The proceeds of check number 047801155 represented the net proceeds from the sale of the Timber Terrace property, referred to in paragraph seven, above. Sometime thereafter, Respondent deposited the check into his client fund account at Home State Bank, which is described more specifically in paragraph three, above.
9. As of August 21, 2013, Respondent had not distributed the proceeds from the sale of the Timber Terrace property to any of the Hanson siblings, nor had he obtained their authority to use those proceeds for any purposes unrelated to their mother’s estate. On August 22, 2013, Respondent drew a check on the client fund account payable to the order of Steven Hanson in the amount of $41,687.09. On that date, the balance in the client fund account was only $38,201.44. Despite that, Respondent’s check to Steven Hanson was eventually paid.
10. Between June 6, 2013 and August 23, 2013, Respondent drew checks or made other withdrawals from his client fund account in payment of Respondent’s own business or personal obligations. As of August 23, 2013, when the client trust account was overdrawn by $3,519.19, Respondent had used, without authority, at least $175,644.55 of assets belonging to the beneficiaries of Suzanne Hanson’s estate.
11. By reason of the conduct described above, Respondent has engaged in the following misconduct:
a. conversion;
b. conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, in violation of Rule 8.4(c) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (2010);
c. conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, in violation of Rule 8.4(d) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (2010); and
d. conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice, or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute.
WHEREFORE, the Administrator respectfully requests that this matter be assigned to a panel of the Hearing Board, that a hearing be held, and that the panel make findings of fact, conclusions of fact and law, and a recommendation for such discipline as is warranted.
Scott Renfroe
Counsel for Administrator
One Prudential Plaza
130 East Randolph Drive, Suite 1500
Chicago, Illinois 60601-6219
Telephone: (312) 565-2600
Respectfully submitted,
Jerome Larkin, Administrator
Attorney Registration and
Disciplinary Commission

By:  Scott Renfroe

# posted by Cal Skinner : 5:57 PM




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