Referee: Attorney charged with defrauding company should pay

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A referee is recommending that an Elm Grove attorney charged with defrauding a company of more than $150,000 should pay half the costs of his disciplinary proceeding.

The case stems from a complaint filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation in July and amended in August alleging that James Schoenecker had defrauded a company he had founded with two of his friends. According to the complaint, he charged more than $25,000 in personal expenses to the company’s business account and charged nearly $6,000 to the company credit card.

Schoenecker, who had been admitted to practice in Wisconsin since 2004, entered a stipulation with the OLR that recommended that his license be suspended for a year, retroactive to Aug. 15, 2014, the date when he became eligible for reinstatement. They also agreed that Schoenecker should pay half the cost of the disciplinary proceeding.

The referee had filed her recommendation for sanctions in November, agreeing with the OLR’s suggestion that Schoenecker’s license be suspended for a year and that reinstatement be granted under certain conditions, including that Schoenecker complete six continuing-education credits in the management of trust accounts and law offices and that he agree to monitoring by the Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program.

On Feb. 18, she filed her recommendation for costs, which also was in line with Schoenecker’s and the OLR’s stipulation.

Schoenecker’s license was previously suspended in 2011 for misconduct, including falsifying documents and lying in his personal bankruptcy proceedings, setting up his own law firm without telling the firm he was already working for, and setting up a trust account he did not disclose to the State Bar.