The Tractor Story: Sheer Audacity

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has revoked the license of an attorney in the wake of a federal criminal conviction,

On May 23, 2023, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin filed an Information charging Attorney Lein with three criminal counts related to her misappropriation of funds from an estate. The Information alleged that Attorney Lein had drafted estate planning documents for an individual, J.S., and was the sole trustee of J.S.'s estate upon J.S.'s death. The Information further alleged that Attorney Lein received $1,643,818 in funds belonging to the estate and used the vast majority of those funds for her own purposes. The Information further alleged that Attorney Lein knowingly failed to report funds she transferred from J.S.'s estate to her personal bank account on her federal income taxes. The Information charged Attorney Lein with wire fraud, engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from a specified unlawful activity, and tax fraud.

Respondent pled guilty to the information

On September 7, 2023, the federal district court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Attorney Lein to 45 months in prison for two counts and 36 months on the third. The court ordered Attorney Lein to pay $1,369,491 to J.S.'s wife, B.T., or, in the event of B.T.'s death, to J.S.'s daughters, D.G. and M.R., in equal amounts. The court also ordered Attorney Lein to pay $239,641.56 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Sanction

With respect to discipline, we agree with the referee's observation that revocation is appropriate. The seriousness, scope, and sheer audacity of the misconduct at issue evince an attorney who lost her way and was unable or unwilling to adhere to her professional duties. Revocation is the only sanction proportionate to Attorney Lein's wrongdoing; anything else would unduly minimize its gravity, as the size of her misappropriations dwarfs those that have earned revocation in the past.

ANNETTE KINGSLAND ZIEGLER, C.J. (concurring).

I concur in the court's order revoking Attorney Lein’s license to practice law in Wisconsin. I write separately to point out that in Wisconsin the "revocation" of an attorney's law license is not truly revocation because the attorney may petition for reinstatement after a period of five years. See SCR 22.29(2). I believe that when it comes to lawyer discipline, courts should say what they mean and mean what they say. We should not be creating false perceptions to both the public and to the lawyer seeking to practice law again...

I believe there may be rare and unusual cases that would warrant the permanent revocation of an attorney's license to practice law. See S. Ct. Order 19-10 (issued Dec. 18, 2019) (Ziegler, J., dissenting).

I am authorized to state that Justices REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, BRIAN HAGEDORN, and JILL J. KAROFSKY join this concurrence.

Details from the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin

The investigation revealed that Lein used the embezzled funds to pay personal expenses, including improvements to her residence in Reedsburg and to purchase multiple vehicles, including a 2019 F-250 pickup truck, a 2017 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, and a 2020 Mahinda tractor.  Lein also admitted that she failed to report the income she obtained from the embezzlement on her 2019 personal tax return.   

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley stated that it was hard to overstate the level of betrayal the defendant’s client endured as a result of the embezzlement scheme.  Judge Conley noted that Lein violated her ethical obligations as an attorney in “stunning ways.”  Judge Conley stated that the evidence showed that the defendant had lost her moral compass and the result was an “unspeakable loss” for the clien

(Mike Frisch)