A disbarred lawyer with more gall than brains was arrested outside the Supreme Court building right after he applied for reinstatement to the Bar.
Leon Smith, one of many corrupt lawyers in The Bahamas, was disbarred in 2004 after $400,000 went missing from a client’s account.
The rip-off attorney applied for reinstatement but, as the hearing proceeded, it was discovered that Mr Smith was still practicing law, even after he had been disbarred. That, of course, is a criminal offence.
It was also disclosed at the hearing that Mr Smith was being investigated by the Criminal Detective Unit (CDU) for insurance fraud. He allegedly stole over $200,000 from a family who hired him in 2005. Police had been looking for Smith for some time.
Then, there was the matter concerning Colina General Imperial Life, which have also resulted in criminal charges against Mr Smith.
The crooked lawyer incurred over $2.5 million in losses for Imperial Life by obtaining mortgages for himself and clients, while acting as attorney for Imperial Life in the negotiations. He was supposed to pay Imperial Life but failed to do so.
To add icing to the cake, Smith is also the lawyer who was blasted by Senior Justice Lyons in a 2003 Supreme Court judgment over the quieting of land in the Pinewood Gardens area. In that case, Mr Smith was found to have fraudulently secured on behalf of John Sands.
The Bar Association, which is really little more than a den of thieves, will deliver its decision about Mr Smith’s reinstatement on November 4. Just because he has committed numerous felonies doesn’t mean he can’t be a lawyer in The Bahamas.
