Ride the Lightning

Lawyer Who Falls for Nigerian Insurance Scam is Suspended

December 11, 2013

Can a lawyer really be this stupid/unethical? Apparently so, because his law license has been suspended for 12 months by the Iowa Supreme Court. The lawyer in question is Robert Allan Wright Jr.

Justice Daryl Hecht deserves kudos for showing such restraint in his recitation of the facts.

"While representing Floyd Lee Madison in a criminal case in 2011, [lawyer Robert Allan Wright Jr.] was presented with documents purporting to evidence that Madison was the beneficiary of a large bequest from his long-lost cousin in Nigeria. Madison represented to Wright that upon payment of $177,660 in taxes owed on the inheritance in Nigeria, the sum of $18,800,000 would be released to Madison. He asked Wright to represent him in securing the transfer of the funds from Nigeria. In consideration for a fee equal to ten percent of the funds recovered, Wright agreed to represent Madison in the Nigerian transaction."

Robert Wright got in trouble for persuading other clients of his to loan money to Floyd Lee Madison for purposes of securing the Nigerian inheritance.

"Wright was also representing Linda Putz at that time in a pending workers’ compensation case. The case was nearing completion, and Wright and Putz were awaiting receipt of proceeds of a settlement. Knowing Putz would soon net approximately $25,000 from the settlement, Wright informed her Madison hoped to borrow money to pay Nigerian authorities for an “anti-terrorism certificate” and inquired whether Putz would be willing to loan the sum of $12,500 for this purpose."

An anti-terrorism certificate? Really? Anyway, Ms. Putz (unfortunate name) finally loaned the entire $25,000 from her settlement.

The gullible Mr. Wright, during the course of this farce, communicated with people he believed to be representatives of the “Central Bank of Nigeria,” the “African Union,” and the President of Nigeria.

You'll be surprised (not) that the inheritance never materialized. This unfortunate situation resulted in a number of disciplinary charges against Wright, including incompetence, failure to disclose or secure client consent to conflicts of interest, and assisting a client in dishonesty or fraud. But Wright got off on that last charge.

The [Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary] Board’s posthearing brief withdrew the allegation that Wright violated rule 32:1.2(d) by assisting a client in conduct Wright knew to be illegal or fraudulent. The Board made this withdrawal based on its view that “Wright clearly believed in the legitimacy of Madison’s inheritance . . . .” Noting “Wright appears to have honestly believed — and continues to believe — that one day a trunk full of . . . one hundred dollar bills is going to appear upon his office doorstep,” the Board asserted before the commission that Wright’s conduct might aptly be described as delusional, but not fraudulent.

To demonstrate his capacity for delusion, Wright appealed the suspension recommendation of a division of the Iowa Supreme Court’s Grievance Commission. This resulted in being humiliated and publicized on a much more national scale by the Supreme Court of Iowa, which suspended his license "with no possibility of reinstatement for a period of not less than 12 months."

Maybe the trunk of money will arrive for Christmas. Then again . . .

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