Florida Supreme Court disciplines 4 South Florida lawyers for financial misconduct

Four South Florida attorneys are facing Florida Supreme Court-ordered penalties for money misdeeds.

The punishments — which aren’t final until the time expires to for the lawyers to file rehearing motions — vary in severity from a six-month suspension to full disbarment.

Atop the list is North Miami Beach lawyer Andres Jackson-Whyte, whom the Southern District Court of Florida suspended in February for misappropriating a $100,000 personal injury settlement she received on behalf of a client.

The Supreme Court of Florida ruled Aug. 17 to disbar Jackson-Whyte, effective retroactively to Dec. 14, 2022, for taking and improperly dispersing the money and destroying records despite knowing of an ongoing Florida Bar investigation.

Her client, Leroy Moore, ultimately received less than $10,000 of the settlement he received after being struck by a car while sitting at a bus stop. Jackson-Whyte explained she transferred so little of the money to Moore — in cash — because larger sums may have interrupted federal disability payments he receives.

Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church, of which both Jackson-Whyte and Moore are members, got more than $50,000, according to the Miami Herald, which named several other individuals who received thousands of dollars from of Moore’s settlement.

Two lawyers from the tri-county area received disciplinary revocation of their licenses. Both will be able to apply for readmission to the Florida Bar in late 2028.

One is Kevin Hagen of Fort Lauderdale, who was convicted in May of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The other is Kyle Young of Palm Beach, who in March was criminally charged with making false and fraudulent misrepresentations in a Paycheck Protection Program loan application.

FederalPay.org shows Young took out two PPP loans in July 2020 and January 2021, each for $20,604.

Miami lawyer Emelike Nwosuocha, who was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008, received a six-month suspension, effective on or around Sept. 17, for filing a “frivolous medical malpractice complaint” and failing to pay a defendant a court-ordered sum.

“Nwosuocha also failed to timely respond to the bar’s compliant or request for admission and consequently was defaulted,” Florida Bar personnel wrote. “At the time of the final hearing, Nwosuocha still had not paid the amount due in attorney’s fees nor did he demonstrate remorse for his misconduct.”

Nwosuocha shares a name with a local rapper and digital marketing specialist who in 2021 filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against actor-comedian-rapper Donald Glover over Grammy Award-winning the song, “This is America.”

The suit claimed Glover, who raps under the stage name Childish Gambino, infringed on a 2016 song Nwosuocha released called “Made in America” under the moniker Kidd Wes.

But it doesn’t appear the two identically named Nwosuocha men are the same person. The non-lawyer’s LinkedIn page lists his highest educational attainment as an associate’s degree from Miami Dade College, while the lawyer’s Florida Bar page shows he received his juris doctor from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2005.

Jackson-Whyte, Hagen, Young and Nwosuocha were among 16 lawyers to receive Florida Supreme Court disciplinary orders between June 6 and Aug. 24.