State Bar to Suspend License of Attorney Who Admitted to Paying for Referrals

Tuesday, September 20, 2016 | 0

An applicants' attorney who admitted to paying about $155,000 in exchange for client referrals will see his license to practice law suspended next week, according to a State Bar Court of California document.

San Diego-area lawyer Ronald Mix, 78, pleaded guilty to tax fraud in May. His 2012 tax filing claimed $40,000 in donations to a charity run by Kermit Washington, a former National Basketball Association star, prosecutors said.

Washington allegedly pocketed that money in exchange for referring clients to Mix's firm, which specializes in representing professional athletes, prosecutors said. Washington accepted other donations Mix and his firm made between 2010 and 2013 as well, according to his indictment.

Washington has pleaded not guilty to his alleged role in the scheme. His trial will begin on March 27, 2017, in the federal court in Kansas City, Missouri, according to a July court document.

Mix signed a plea agreement on May 23 in the Kansas City court. The former National Football League player-turned-lawyer pleaded guilty to one felony charge of making false statements in a tax return, agreeing to pay $49,543 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

His conviction has not been finalized, and no sentencing date has been set, his attorneys say. The length of his Bar suspension will be determined after he is sentenced.

"Neither the prosecution nor the defense has yet filed their sentencing papers," said Charles Sevilla, one of Mix's attorneys. "That will probably take place when we get the definitive order for a date."

Sevilla and Jean Paul Bradshaw, who is also representing Mix, say they don't know when that will be.

Mix faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the Department of Justice.

The State Bar of California will suspend Mix's license to practice law next Monday. Under California's Business and Professions Code Section 6101, conviction of a felony involving "moral turpitude" constitutes a case for suspension or disbarment. Mix's tax fraud conviction falls under that category.

The suspension will go into effect Monday despite the fact Mix's conviction has not been finalized, State Bar deputy court clerk Christina Potter said. The conviction will be finalized once the sentencing takes place.

Mix may fight the suspension, Potter said.

"This will probably go to the hearing department. After the hearing department judge makes a decision, he still has an opportunity to go back to the review department and have a review of the decision," Potter said. 

Mix works out of his own law office in San Juan Capistrano. It is unclear whether he currently represents clients. His lawyers did not comment on that, and Mix did not respond to multiple messages left with assistants at his law firm Monday.

Mix's firm primarily represents professional athletes.

"Hall of Fame Players, coaches and high-profile athletes are routinely referred to Ron because of his winning reputation and the fact that he is the only player in the NFL Hall of Fame who is representing professional athletes in sports workers' compensation claims in California," his website says.

In 2010, the New York Times estimated that Mix and another former NFL star, Mel Owens, represented about 1,000 retired athletes in California comp claims. At the time, California was the only jurisdiction allowing players with limited exposure in the state to file cumulative trauma claims.

The state put a stop to that in 2013 with the passage of AB 1309. In the month before the law took effect, Mix filed almost 300 claims on behalf of athletes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mix is not currently listed as an attorney on the Law Office of Ron Mix website. The firm employs three lawyers: Mix's son, Charles Mix; former NFL player Shawn Stuckey; and Jerry Koo, who represented both athletes and non-athletes before joining the firm in 2014.

According to Mix's plea agreement, the lawyer admitted to writing checks from his personal bank account and his firm’s account to Washington's charity, the 6th Man Foundation, from 2010 to 2013 in exchange for client referrals. Individual donations ranged from $5,000 to $25,000. 

Washington is accused of soliciting donations from Mix and former athletes, filing false tax returns and committing other cover-up crimes. He was charged with interfering with internal revenue laws, conspiring to commit wire fraud, obstructing justice and aggravated identity theft.