Lawsuit Claims Attorney Stole $1.8M from Client’s Trust Fund, Gambled Money Away at Hard Rock Tampa
A lawyer from Florida emptied a client’s trust account and squandered $1.8 million on gambling at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, as stated in a civil lawsuit submitted by the genuine beneficiaries.
Jason Penrod owns Family Elder Law, which unexpectedly shut down its three locations in Lake Wales, Fla., Lakeland, Fla., and Sebring, Fla. in July, according to The Ledger.
This was likely due to Penrod encountering disciplinary measures from the Florida Bar and recognizing that his life was falling apart. In the same month, Penrod admitted in a letter to one of the parties in a lawsuit against him that he had lost the money to gambling. In the letter, he referred to himself as “a furious addict,” based on court records.
“I would gamble until I exhausted our family’s savings, my law firm’s profits; all the while avoiding reality and any type of feeling (which is the only way I can explain not fearing the consequences of my irrational and immoral behavior),” Penrod allegedly wrote in the letter, a copy of which was filed in court. “And then, once I received more money, I would gamble and lose those monies.”
‘Stress from Trauma’
In 2014, Penrod was engaged to create a living trust for a client named David D. Anderson, who passed away in 2021. Penrod was appointed as the successor trustee. The plaintiffs in the case, Charles Anderson and Sherry Prevoznik, are the sole beneficiaries and are Anderson's children.
In June, Charles Anderson met with Penrod to talk about concluding the management of the trust, during which Penrod handed Anderson the confession letter he had composed, according to the lawsuit.
In it, he acknowledges that from October 2023 through January 2024, he moved funds from the trust to his personal account until it was exhausted, as stated in the complaint.
Penrod attributed his behavior to “post-traumatic stress from childhood incidents” that had impacted “numerous aspects of my life, especially my mental wellbeing.”
He regarded these transactions as temporary loans which he would repay with interest, he asserted. However, he quickly came to the realization that he could not repay the funds and "hit rock bottom," recognizing that he would lose his legal license and face imprisonment, as stated in the court filing.
A Chance for Reversal
Penrod has submitted a request to the Florida Supreme Court seeking “disciplinary revocation.” If approved, this would end his right to practice law but would still give him the possibility of reapplying to the Florida Bar in the future to continue his legal career.
This would imply that the disciplinary action taken by the Florida Bar against him would be nullified, but it certainly wouldn’t shield him from any criminal charges.
He stated that he selected this path because he thinks his future work potential is his sole opportunity to repay the debt.
“I humbly ask that you allow me to continue to work and pay you back,” Penrod wrote in the letter. “This is obviously self-serving, since it keeps me from going to prison and allows me to be with my family. And while I know God’s grace is real, as I wouldn’t be here were it not, I cannot control […] whether you forgive me.”
