TO BE PUBLISHED
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2016-SC-000204-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION MOVANT
V. IN SUPREME COURT
BRYAN SAMUEL COFFMAN RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
The Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association recommended
that Bryan Samuel Coffman,' currently residing in the Federal Correctional
Institution in Ashland, Kentucky, be permanently disbarred from the practice
of law. We adopt the Board's recommendation.
This matter came before the Board on September 18, 2015, as a default
matter under Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 3.210. The Board voted to recommend
Coffman guilty of violating SCR 3.130(8.3). In considering the appropriate
penalty for this ethical violation, the Board considered the multitude of felonies
for which Coffman was convicted, the fraudulent nature of those crimes, the
Board's prior history of recommending permanent disbarment for members
convicted of crimes involving knowing dishonesty and misappropriation of
1 KBA Member No. 88183.
Bar Roster Address: 2343 Alexandria Drive, Ste. 140, Lexington, KY 40504.
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client funds, and relevant provisions of the American Bar Association
Standards for Imposing Lawyer's Sanctions.
Coffman has failed to file an Answer to the charge filed by the Inquiry
Commission on June 12, 2015, and he is in default. The Inquiry Commission
filed an Order of Submission on September 30, 2015. We accordingly find him
guilty of the aforementioned violation and order that he be permanently
disbarred as recommended by a majority of the voting Board members, and we
further adopt verbatim the Board's Findings of Fact as follows:
FINDINGS OF FACT
Respondent was charged by the Inquiry Commission on
June 12, 2015 with one count of improper conduct as follows:
The Respondent violated SCR 3.130(8.3), in effect before the
July 15, 2009 amendments, in that he was indicted on December
4, 2009 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Kentucky at Lexington under case number 5:09-cr-181-KKC,
alleging criminal violations of federal law involving wire fraud,
money laundering and securities fraud. SCR 3.130(8.3), in effect
before the July 15, 2009 amendments, stated in part: "It is
professional misconduct for a lawyer to: (b) commit a criminal act
that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or
fitness as a lawyer in other respects; [and] (c) engage in conduct
involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation."
Following a jury trial, Respondent was convicted on May 11,
2011, of twenty-seven (27) counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to
commit money laundering, money laundering and securities fraud
involving approximately 600 individuals and a total monetary loss
of $36,464,060.86. On May 2, 2012, Respondent was sentenced to
300 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for the
amount of the monetary loss sustained.
Respondent appealed his conviction to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit which affirmed his conviction
and sentence on July 22, 2014. The opinion of the Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals is unpublished, but reported as United States v.
Coffman, 574 Fed. Appx. 541 (6th Cir. 2014). The Court of Appeals
denied the Respondent's petition for rehearing en bane on
September 5, 2014.
The United States Supreme Court denied the Respondent's
petition for a writ of certiorari on March 23, 2015.
The Respondent's conviction is now final as he has
exhausted all available appellate steps.
Coffman was initially suspended from practicing law due to the criminal
indictment in accordance with SCR 3.166. The Inquiry Commission
subsequently filed a complaint on September 28, 2012. Coffman responded to
the complaint, and the matter was placed in abeyance while Coffman appealed
his conviction. The case was removed from abeyance in March 2015, and
Coffman filed a response to the original complaint.
The Inquiry Commission filed formal charges on June 12, 2015. Copies
of the charges were sent to Coffman's bar address as well as the correctional
facility where he was serving his criminal sentence. The charges were also
served through the Executive Director of the Kentucky Bar Association on
August 11, 2015. The Board concluded Coffman's conviction of twenty-seven
separate felonies is a clear violation of SCR 3.130(8.3) and recommended
finding him guilty by a unanimous vote of voting Board members. Neither
Coffman nor Bar Counsel has filed a notice of review under SCR 3.370(8), nor
do we independently elect to review the decision of the Board under SCR
3.370(9), meaning that the decision of the Board is hereby adopted under SCR
3.370(10).
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS:
1) Bryan Samuel Coffman is guilty of violating SCR 3.130(8.3), for which he
is permanently disbarred from the practice of law; AND
2) In accordance with SCR 3.450, Coffman is directed to pay all costs
associated with these disciplinary proceedings, the sum of $677.79, for
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which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion
and Order.
3) In accordance with SCR 3.390, Coffman must notify, by letter placed in
the United States Postal Service, all courts or other tribunals in which he
has matters pending, and all clients of his inability to represent them
and provide copies of the letter to the Office of Bar Council.
4) Coffman must immediately cancel any pending advertisements and
terminate any advertising activity.
All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED: August 25, 2016.
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