Stephen Brusch, an attorney admitted in New York who relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands, was disbarred yesterday by a unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel for stealing client funds. According to the court’s decision, Brusch stole funds on two occasions. In the first, a client paid him a $10,000 retainer to work on a probate matter. When the client told Brusch that he had retained new counsel and asked for the unused part of the retainer back, Brusch did not respond and never gave back the money. The second time, Brusch kept over $37,000 of a $250,000 settlement he won for a client, to which he was not entitled.
Both clients filed grievances with the Virgin Islands Bar Association’s Ethics and Grievance Committee, which recommended in 2006 that Brusch be disbarred. Brusch never responded to any of the grievances, but he did appear before the Supreme Court in the Virgin Islands in response to an order to show cause why he should not be disbarred. He admitted to the allegations, and the court disbarred him in 2007. It noted that there were 11 pending grievances against him alleging misappropriation of client funds.
