Indefinite suspension of law license recommended for Robert Rohrbaugh | News, Sports, Jobs

The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct and the Mahoning County Bar Association have recommended that suspended attorney Robert J. Rohrbaugh II be indefinitely suspended from practicing law in Ohio.

Rohrbaugh, 50, was sentenced to 52 months in prison in June 2023 after being convicted at trial in January 2023 of conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States, aiding and abetting the theft of government property, advocating and promoting false claims against the United States. and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Rohrbaugh is housed in the minimum-security federal correctional facility in Morgantown, W.Va. and has a release date of December 18, 2026, according to US Bureau of Prisons records. A filing in the case, however, lists Rohrbaugh’s release from prison as April 2025.

Rohrbaugh had a law office on Belmont Avenue in Liberty and was living in the Youngstown area at the time he and two other men were indicted in federal court on fraud charges. They were accused of cashing and using a $1.3 million IRS check co-defendant Brandon Mace fraudulently obtained while in federal prison.

In January 2024, the Mahoning County Bar Association filed a complaint against Rohrbaugh with the Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct, requesting that Rohrbaugh be disciplined by the Ohio Supreme Court as a result of his convictions.

The Ohio Supreme Court issued a temporary suspension of Rohrbaugh’s law license on February 15, 2023.

The bar argued that Rohrbaugh failed to act in the best interests of Speed ​​Werks LLC, which he represented in fraud, and “failed to withdraw from representing a client when the representation would result in a violation of Ohio Professional Rules. Conduct or other law.”

The Mahoning County Bar Association said in June that it and Rohrbaugh’s attorney were jointly recommending that Rohrbaugh serve an indefinite suspension of his law license, meaning it would be suspended for at least two years.

Bar Association, in a filing with the Board of Professional Conduct by attorney J Michael Thompson, that case law suggests that Rohrbaugh will not be eligible for reinstatement of his law license until he completes a term of federal supervised release and completes a rehabilitation plan. payment for restitution. .

The Board of Professional Conduct filed a report called Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendations that noted the matter went to a video conference hearing on June 21, 2024.

The report concluded that Rohrbaugh “acted with a selfish motive, using the $100,000 Mace paid him to conduct legal work necessary to cash the $1.3 million IRS check” to pay monthly personal and business (of Rohrbaugh). But he found Rohrbaugh’s criminal behavior “aberrational.”

Rohrbaugh represented Mace several times before the episode involving the $1.3 million IRS check in 2015.

“Unknowingly (Rohrbaugh) Mace, in March 2015, filed approximately eight fraudulent tax documents to receive a tax refund based on entities that did not exist,” the filing states.

Mace used the tax proceeds to pay Rohrbaugh’s $100,000 fee — paid by check and reported on Rohrbaugh’s tax return — which was in part for legal services rendered when the latter represented Mace.

Rohrbaugh had no knowledge of the criminal activity or the charges, the document states.

Rohrbaugh “did not establish any of the shell corporations and did not obtain federal employer identification numbers for the shell corporations. He registered in Ohio one of the entities that was previously established in Texas,” the board filing states.

Rohrbaugh “testified that he would have accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty (instead of going to trial) if he had known that the primary charge against him was receiving money that he knew or should have known was illegally obtained and that he registered the entity in Texas. in Ohio,” he continues.

“As a result of the temporary suspension of the offense and the legal costs associated with (Rohrbaugh’s) conduct, the (Rohrbaugh) family was forced to sell essentially everything they owned, including furniture and clothing,” it said.

Rohrabaugh “confessed that losing everything but being able to live with little more than the love and support of family and close friends proves that no matter how much we think we need to have—houses, cars, cell phones, vacations and the rest—we we can get by with very little,” it says.

Rohrbaugh, “while in prison, engaged in a residential substance abuse program and has significant involvement in spiritual groups and activities, strengthening his sense of community and responsibility as well as sobriety,” it said. He acquired new skills in prison, “for example in commercial plumbing, which will help him gain gainful employment after release; in addition, he could be employed as a paralegal.”

The record shows that Rohrbaugh’s conduct was “significantly less in degree, scope and motivation” than his two co-defendants, which mitigates in his favor.

The filing noted that restitution is usually a condition of reinstatement, but in this case, as in others, the amount of restitution ordered by the sentencing judge, Benita Y. Pearson, “is not realistically achievable for a held. attorney.” Rohrbaugh was ordered to pay $569,938 in restitution along with his two co-defendants.

“Regardless of what form the terms of reintegration take, it is clear that full restitution is not necessarily required as a precondition for reintegration where it is effectively impossible to achieve.”

The Ohio Bar Association website describes four types of penalties that can be imposed by the Ohio Supreme Court for violations of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct:

1. A public rebuke.

2. A suspension from practice for a fixed period of six months to two years.

3. An indefinite suspension from practice (at least two years).

4. Disbarment, which means loss of license for life, with no chance of readmission to the Ohio bar. A lawyer may also waive the right to practice law. In fact, resigning is the same as being permanently expelled.

A July 5 filing by Rohrbaugh’s attorney, John Juhasz, noted that Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum wrote a letter to the board regarding Rohrbaugh.

The June 13, 2024 letter, submitted separately to the board, states that Krichbaum was subpoenaed to appear before the Board of Professional Conduct to testify on behalf of Rohrbaugh, but understood that he could write a letter “in lieu of live testimony. “

Krichbaum, a common trial judge for 34 years and a defense attorney for 12 years before that, said he has known Rohrbaugh for 35 to 40 years. Rohrbaugh’s stepfather, former judge Lou D’Apolito “has been a good friend of mine for about 50 years,” Krichbaum said.

“In our profession, the message we should be sending to society is that once a criminal defendant has paid his debt to society, he should be given the opportunity to start over.” He asked the board to “consider an indefinite suspension in the case of Robert Rohrbaugh.” The judge said he would allow Rohrbaugh to “knock on your door at some point in the future and maybe, if he proves worthy, start over.”

Juhaz wrote that Krichbaum is “a tough nut as a judge” and “known to be a tough convict and someone who believes people should pay for what they’ve done wrong.”