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Attorney faces 2-year suspension for embezzlement

By: Eric Heisig//July 8, 2014//

Attorney faces 2-year suspension for embezzlement

By: Eric Heisig//July 8, 2014//

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A Rock County attorney who admitted embezzling nearly $40,000 from his former employer is facing a two-year suspension of his law license.

John Koenig, of Milton, worked at Kohls & Associates LLC, Monona, from 2007 to 2013. The Office of Lawyer Regulation, in a complaint filed Monday, alleges Koenig “quoted and collected fees from clients that were larger than what he had reported and turned in to the firm.”

According to the complaint, Koenig had his clients pay him directly for some of his work, primarily estate planning, and would then tell the firm that he charged less than what he received. He would manually create invoices for higher rates than the firm charged or not report the income to the firm.

He did this 37 times and embezzled a total of $39,920, all of which he admitted to, according to the complaint.

Koenig left after the firm found out he had stolen the money, according to the complaint. He forfeited his last paycheck, worth $27,900, to pay for his damage.

No one reported the matter to the police, said Lt. Sara Deuman of the Monona Police Department.

The OLR is asking the state Supreme Court to suspend Koenig’s license for two years and to order him to pay $12,020 in restitution to the firm.

Koenig was licensed to practice law in Wisconsin in 1997. His license is suspended for not being up-to-date with his continuing legal education requirement.

In an email attributed to him, Koenig said he couldn’t comment until he received a copy of the complaint.

Dan Kohls of Kohls & Associates, through a representative, declined to comment.

According to the OLR’s complaint, Koenig also allegedly did legal work for acquaintances that he did not report to the firm.

“Although a Kohls firm attorney would have been permitted to perform work for family or perhaps even close friends at no charge, it was understood by the firm’s employees that any legal work performed by an employee should be reported to the firm,” according to the complaint, “and it was understood by the firm’s employees that all billing for legal work should be reported to the firm.”

Koenig also was paid for presenting at CLE programs and public workshops, but did not turn that money over to the firm, according to the OLR.

If the state Supreme Court suspends Koenig’s license for two years, he would have to petition the court to be reinstated.

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