- 3 - transferred $741,065 in life insurance proceeds that Votano inherited from her father. Petitioner was designated as trustee of this trust, and it was intended by Votano that petitioner use the $741,065 to purchase for the trust a suitable investment approved by Votano. On November 9, 1988, petitioner transferred the $741,065 received from Votano into a "special" checking account in his name at Chemical Bank. The $741,065 was not transferred into one of petitioner's client escrow accounts. On or about November 10, 1988, petitioner purchased with the $741,065 two certificates of deposit at Chemical Bank -- one in the amount of $341,065 and the other in the amount of $400,000. Although not completely clear from the record, it appears that these certificates of deposit were purchased in the name of petitioner, not in the name of the Votano trust. On October 9, 1990, Votano delivered a letter to petitioner in which she asked that her trust be terminated. Petitioner informed Votano that the two certificates of deposit that he had purchased with the $741,065 had just been renewed and therefore that the funds were not readily available. On or about January 3, 1991, Votano received from petitioner a letter in which petitioner falsely claimed, among other things, that he had been diagnosed with an inoperable and incurable brain tumor and that he had only 2 months to live, and petitioner correctly acknowledged in the letter that Votano's $741,065 wasPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011