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Counsel Filed A Five-Count Petition For Discipline Against The Respondent

On October 29, 2001, bar counsel filed a five-count petition for discipline against the respondent. On February 27, 2002, the petition for discipline against the respondent was consolidated for hearing with a petition for discipline filed against Edmund E. Fleming. Mr. Fleming subsequently filed an affidavit of resignation and was disbarred. Matter of Fleming, S.J.C. No. BD-2002-004 (September 4, 2002) (Spina, J.) On August 14, 2002, the respondent and bar counsel filed a stipulation of facts that the respondent agreed would be established by a preponderance of the evidence at a hearing. In summary, the respondent agreed that the following facts would be established at a hearing on the petition for discipline. Between 1979 and 1981, Herbert Kent, through an entity called the United States Investment Co., Ltd., (USIC), conducted a fraudulent investment scheme involving the investment in and trading of commodity futures. Approximately 680 investors invested $7 million through USIC, most of which was lost or dissipated.

In April 1981, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking injunctive relief and the appointment of a receiver. The court appointed Edmund E. Fleming, then a member of the bar of the commonwealth, as receiver. As receiver, Fleming was obliged to marshal the assets and property of Kent and USIC, prosecute claims on behalf of USIC, liquidate the receivership estate if necessary, and account for the receivership assets to the court. Fleming was required to petition the court for permission to use receivership funds for any purpose. After March 5, 1982, Fleming did not petition the court for permission to take compensation or reimburse expenditures connected to the receivership. By May 24, 1984, Fleming had completed the seizure and liquidation of USIC assets, which then totaled about $592,580. Fleming did not then file an accounting of the assets with the court and did not propose a distribution of the assets to the investors. In the late winter or spring of 1982, Fleming hired the respondent. The respondent was then in her last year of law school. The respondent was admitted to the practice of law on December 17, 1982

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