ashe

Anybody remember her working at Black Diamond with Keith Simmons? Nothing came of that but she left JJ to take that job then came back when it all broke loose there. JJ was a sap to take her back. Amazing.

Wasn't Larry. It was someone who worked under him.

Trust accounts and investigations.

What does Larry and real estate have to do with this?

24 counts of Felony OBTAIN PROPERTY FALSE PRETENSE.

What made anyone think that they could get away with this? Why would Johnston hire her back after firing her for theft in the past. Plus theft in Alleghany County? I'm in shock!! Why would Johnston show up at court for support for her? I'm confused!

Larry got off light. They have been telling agents for more the 5 years to pull the permits.

http://www1.aoc.state.nc.us...bmit+Query

Its shocking to me that no more than most of the firms are selling they can even pay the light bill much less make a living.

I know how it works, Stupid. Maybe this time it doesn't need to be random

Maybe the real estate commission needs to come to town and do some spot checking too

Interesting! Doesn't her husband have a small real estate company? What a coincidence that JJ does a lot of real estate work...

Come August 1 2015 all lawyer trust accounts must be done with online banking and the bar will have access.

That is my point exactly. Trust in our fellow man can only go just so far. And then we need to watch closely.

Agent, licensing boards just don't have the man power to regularly audit firms under their control.

Trust accounts are only examined by the state Bar, when the firm is selected for a random audit. They are not audited regularly or on any sort of schedule. And even so, the audits are fairly superficial unless something odd sticks out. If the individual responsible for reconciling the trust account is also responsible for filling out Hud-1 forms, it would be very easy to have a nice little running side business dipping into the pot.

Sounds to me like the lawyers had placed to much trust in this individual!

This is what Rule for Record and Accounting states for Trusts:

(d) Reconciliations of General trust accounts.

(1) Quarterly Reconciliations. At least quarterly, the individual client balances shown on the ledger of a general trust account must be totaled and reconciled with the current bank statement balance for the trust account as a whole.

(2) Monthly Reconciliations. Each month, the balance of the trust account as shown on the lawyer's records shall be reconciled with the current bank statement balance for the trust account.

(3) The lawyer shall retain a record of the reconciliations of the general trust account for a period of six years in accordance with Rule 1.15-3(g).

(e) Accountings for trust Funds. The lawyer shall render to the client a written accounting of the receipts and disbursements of all trust funds (i) upon the complete disbursement of the trust funds, (ii) at such other times as may be reasonably requested by the client, and (iii) at least annually if the funds are retained for a period of more than one year.

(f) Accountings for Fiduciary Property. Inventories and accountings of fiduciary funds and other entrusted property received in connection with professional fiduciary services shall be rendered to judicial officials or other persons as required by law. If an annual or more frequent accounting is not required by law, a written accounting of all transactions concerning the fiduciary funds and other entrusted property shall be rendered to the beneficial owners, or their representatives, at least annually and upon the termination of the lawyer's professional fiduciary services.

(g) Minimum Record Keeping Period. A lawyer shall maintain, in accordance with this Rule 1.15, complete and accurate records of all entrusted property received by the lawyer, which records shall be maintained for at least the six (6) year period immediately preceding the lawyer's most recent fiscal year end.

(h) Audit by State Bar. The financial records required by this Rule 1.15 shall be subject to Audit for cause and to random Audit by the North Carolina State Bar; and such records shall be produced for inspection and copying in North Carolina upon request by the State Bar.

awesome, just found it, hope she gets some real time.

It would seem that if it is that easy to do, maybe the Bar Assoc should tighten up the methods. Maybe not a random check but regularly scheduled checks. I know it can't be done daily or even monthly, but there should be a way to do it so this type of thing doesn't happen. Assuming the story is true that this is the second time around, it sure doesn't look good for people wanting to have a second chance does it? I'm all for giving someone a break, and even trying to understand honest mistakes. But, gee.