In 2007 a group of like minded people with common goals came together. This is the GaYbor District Coalition. The following year they decided to make the group more formal and official. The non profit form for the IRS 501.c(3) is very long and complicated. One of the owners of Streetcar Charlie’s was also a attorney and he offered to do it for us. Months went by and we asked about the application. He was working on it. After many months of this the board said that they would finish it themselves. Then asked the attorney for what he already had done. His answered was he had not started it and had zero. This same owner/attorney went on to do many bizarre things. Years ago a wise older Gay person told us “Just because somebody is LGBT, doesn’t mean you can trust them.” How very true.  Fast forward to 2017 and now this….. From ABC Action News.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/tampa-lawyer-accused-of-bilking-nearly-1-million-from-clients-trust-accounts

TAMPA, Fla. – Hiring a lawyer may be one of the most important decisions you will ever make, but when an attorney fails to represent their clients’ best interest, the fallout can be devastating.

As the I-Team uncovered, a local attorney is now under suspension by the Florida Bar, after bank records show he spent nearly a million dollars of clients’ money at casinos, gun stores and fancy restaurants.

“We loved that house. It hurt to leave,” said Janet Crawford.

Janet and her husband Tom hired Tampa attorney James Lee Clark to save their Wesley Chapel home from foreclosure.

“We were getting behind in payments on the house. My husband was sick, he had a heart attack,” said Janet Crawford.

They paid Clark thousands, then followed his advice and signed their deed over to a company owned by Clark’s paralegal and former roommate Eric Liebman.

“They all worked together. They seemed like they were a team. And I trusted my lawyer,” said Janet Crawford.

The Crawfords moved out, after they say they were told Liebman would pay them $5,000 and the bank would forgive their loan.

But they say they got nothing.

Liebman quickly leased the house to another of Clark’s clients, who made a down payment and made monthly payments for nearly two years, believing they were leasing to own  the home.

She filed for bankruptcy to try to keep the bank from taking it, but the bank ended up foreclosing, giving them just days to move out.

The Crawfords didn’t know that Clark had been placed on probation by the Florida Bar while he was handling their case for failing to diligently represent other clients.

“I didn’t do research. I should have done research,” said Janet Crawford.

“It appears as though Mr. Clark removed over $900,000 of my client’s money,” said Morgan & Morgan Attorney L. Reed Bloodworth.

Bloodworth’s clients are now suing Clark, alleging Clark took money the client received from selling two assisted living facilities.

“I don’t know if that are any assets left to recover for my clients,” Bloodworth said.

The Florida Bar subpoenaed hundreds of pages of bank records related to that case, which appear to show Clark transferred money from his client’s trust accounts into his own bank account.

They show Clark spent more than $518,000 at the Hard Rock Casino, $13,000 at bars and liquor stores, $21,000 at gun stores and $17,000 on meals at a casino steakhouse.

Clark also paid for vacations in the Bahamas, London, Paris and Amsterdam.

“Using other people’s money to enjoy himself, it makes me pissed off. I want him disbarred and thrown in jail as well,” said Janet Crawford.

The Florida Supreme Court issued an emergency suspension of Clark’s law license, which went into effect last month.

After multiple attempts to locate Clark, we found him working on his BMW at his South Tampa home, which is under foreclosure.

“I can’t talk about it. I’m sorry,” Clark told us.

“Hiring an attorney is an important decision, whatever that matter may be. I think clients should look into their attorneys,” said Bloodworth.

Bloodworth says clients should consult the Bar and avoid attorneys who have been in trouble.

The Crawfords agree.

“Get comments from other people. Check it out before you sign on any dotted line,” Janet Crawford said.

“Do the footwork or you could end up like my wife and myself,” said Tom Crawford.

You can log on to the Florida Bar’s website to find out if any licensed attorney has been disciplined.

If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, contact us at adam@abcactionnews.com

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/disciplined-lawyer-petitions-florida-supreme-court-to-revoke-his-license?autoplay=true

TAMPA, Fla. – A new twist tonight in an I-Team Investigation we first brought you Monday.

A Tampa attorney who the Florida Bar is investigating now plans to surrender his law license.

James Lee Clark is currently facing three investigations by the Florida Bar.

In a document he filed last week with the Florida Supreme Court, Clark agreed to surrender his license in exchange for the bar dismissing the pending disciplinary cases against him.

Clark is accused of misappropriating nearly a million dollars from a client’s trust account.

Bank records subpoenaed by the Florida Bar show he gambled away more than $500,000 at casinos and spent tens of thousands of dollars on liquor, guns, steak dinners and overseas trips.

Another complaint alleges Clark agreed to rent his South Tampa home, but never moved out and kept the tenants’ money.

A third client complained to the Bar that Clark made an unauthorized $25,000 charge on her credit card.

Clark was disciplined by the bar in 2014 for failing to provide diligent representation to three other clients.

By petitioning the Florida Supreme Court to have his license revoked, Clark does not have to make any admissions regarding the complaints.

Clark did not want to talk to us about the allegations.

The Bar cannot prosecute criminal cases, but does notify authorities if there is evidence a crime has been committed.

If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, contact us at adam@abcationnews.com.

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