Suspended attorney indicted in thefts from his law practice

A probate court judgment entry says Gray took more than $85,000 from his aunt.

WARREN — A Warren lawyer whose license to practice law was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court last summer has been indicted on four theft charges related to his law practice.

James E. Gray, 60, of 251 Hunter’s Hollow, Howland, pleaded innocent Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to one charge of theft from an elderly person and three counts of grand theft. He was secretly indicted last week.

If convicted on the charges, he could be sentenced to 31⁄2 to 121⁄2 years in prison.

Chris Becker, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said the charges arise from four separate allegations involving clients Gray represented in the county’s probate court.

Probate court personnel and investigators uncovered problems with Gray’s work on a case involving his aunt, Elsie Bryn, which led to Gray’s admitting to the court May 22, 2006, to using Bryn’s money and assets for his personal benefit, Becker said.

A judgment entry filed Thursday by Probate Judge Thomas A. Swift said the court found him guilty of concealment and embezzlement May 24, 2006, for taking $85,359 from his aunt. The case was put on hold for one year by an appeal Gray filed.

The entry said the court has ordered Gray to pay the $85,359, plus a 10 percent penalty and an investigator’s fee of $10,094, to his now-deceased aunt’s estate.

Other cases

Becker said the investigation regarding Gray’s aunt also uncovered improper activities in three other cases Gray handled, including a personal injury settlement for a juvenile he represented. Gray is accused of committing the improper actions from 1998 through the end of 2005.

Becker estimated that the thefts total between $40,000 and $125,000.

According to the Trumbull County Bar Association, which moved for Gray’s interim suspension, Gray is alleged to have violated several disciplinary rules including “illegal conduct involving moral turpitude”; the collection of an illegal or clearly excessive fee; and failing to carry out an employment contract with a client for professional services.

Court records indicate Gray practiced law in Warren starting in 1974.

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