A California attorney has been disbarred after state bar officials investigating ethics accusations against him received an email claiming that he had died.
Donald Martin Stone of Winnetka, whose disbarment was announced by the State Bar of California on Thursday, had previously faced disciplinary proceedings for failing to disclose a 1995 theft conviction at a Sears department store.
When questioned about his alleged failure to disclose his conviction by the state bar, Stone stated in a May 2020 letter that the matter had been vacated and dismissed, according to papers in the disciplinary action. He further stated that he had retired from the practice of law and asked that the disciplinary matter be dismissed.
The bar scheduled a hearing against Stone in July 2021, but he did not arrive. The bar got an email in September 2021 from an account Stone had used to speak with officials about the case, claiming that he had died “months ago.”
According to a filing in the lawsuit, bar officials dispatched investigators to confirm Stone’s death, but instead discovered him living at a different address.
The bar filed a petition for disbarment in November 2021, which was approved by the California Supreme Court this month.
Lawyer disbarred after faking death in an email to California attorney authorities
A California attorney has been disbarred after state bar officials investigating ethics accusations against him received an email claiming that he had died.
Donald Martin Stone of Winnetka, whose disbarment was announced by the State Bar of California on Thursday, had previously faced disciplinary proceedings for failing to disclose a 1995 theft conviction at a Sears department store.
When questioned about his alleged failure to disclose his conviction by the state bar, Stone stated in a May 2020 letter that the matter had been vacated and dismissed, according to papers in the disciplinary action. He further stated that he had retired from the practice of law and asked that the disciplinary matter be dismissed.
The bar scheduled a hearing against Stone in July 2021, but he did not arrive. The bar got an email in September 2021 from an account Stone had used to speak with officials about the case, claiming that he had died “months ago.”
According to a filing in the lawsuit, bar officials dispatched investigators to confirm Stone’s death, but instead discovered him living at a different address.
The bar filed a petition for disbarment in November 2021, which was approved by the California Supreme Court this month.
The case is In the Matter of Donald Martin Stone, State Bar Court of California, No. SBC-20-C-30304.
