On Wednesday, March 10, 2023, the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department ordered the suspension of Smithtown attorney William Henry Scheurer for misappropriation of client funds.
The case is styled “In the Matter of William Henry Scheurer”, case no. 2021-00272.
The charges cited Rules 1.15(a), 1.15(b)(2), 1.15(e), and 8.4(h) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.
The respondent was served with a notice of petition and a verified petition from the Tenth Judicial District Grievance Committee, both dated January 12, 2021, and containing five allegations of professional misconduct.
The petition alleged that the respondent violated the rules of professional conduct by misappropriating funds entrusted to him, failing to make accurate entries of all financial transactions related to the escrow account in a ledger book or similar record at or near the time of the event recorded, withdrawing cash from the escrow account, and failing to properly title the escrow account. The petition further alleged that based on the above-mentioned conduct, the respondent engaged in conduct adversely reflecting his fitness as a lawyer.
On January 30, 2021, the respondent filed his answer essentially refuting every charge in the petition. Thereafter, the Grievance Committee requested the appointment of a special referee for a hearing in light of the disputed facts. The respondent, on the other hand, denied the allegations and argued that the appointment of a special referee was unjustified.
The Special Referee was then appointed by the Court to hear the case and make a report. The respondent objected to the Grievance Committee’s application for permission to amend the petition in order to add charge six during the hearing. In a report dated October 20, 2021, the Special Referee granted the Grievance Committee’s request for leave to amend the petition to add charge six and sustained all six charges. Until the parties submitted their post-hearing memorandum, the Special Referee withheld the decision.
The Special Referee’s Report reads in the pertinent part:
“Moreover, this impression of his credibility and/or lack of candor was dramatically reinforced by his responses to the Charges. For example, his explanation is that the TD Bank Account’s balances offset the deficits of the Apple Account. On each of the four dates in question, however, the evidence demonstrated that the difference between the two was thousands of dollars apart. In simplest terms, his explanation not only ‘didn’t add up,’ it wasn’t even close.”
According to the court filing, the Grievance Committee moved to confirm the Special Referee’s report and sanction the respondent as the Court deems appropriate. Conversely, the respondent contends that an admonition or “private censure” would be commensurate with the offense and the precedent of the Court.
In light of the foregoing facts and discussion, as well as the evidence adduced during the hearing, the court concluded that the special referee correctly sustained charges one through five, and determined that charge six was not properly sustained by the Special Referee because the evidence did not support those findings.
The Court determined that the respondent’s conduct justifies a five-year suspension from the practice of law.
The disposition reads:
“ORDERED that the Grievance Committee’s motion to confirm the Special Referee’s report is granted to the extent that charges one through five are sustained, and denied to the extent that charge six is not sustained; and it is further
ORDERED that the respondent, William Henry Scheurer, is suspended from the practice of law for a period of five years, commencing April 7, 2023, and continuing until further order of this Court.”
The Order also stated that the respondent could only apply for reinstatement after September 8, 2027, and only if he could demonstrate, among other things, that he had fully complied with the relevant continuing legal education requirements, that he had not attempted to practice law during the suspension period, and that he had complied with this opinion and order as well as other terms and provisions governing the conduct of disbarred or suspended attorneys.
Prior to his suspension, Mr. William Henry Scheurer maintained his law practice in Smithtown, New York. He graduated from Touro College of Law. Sheurer has been admitted to the state bar of New York in 2000. His info can be found on Avvo.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
