st paul

Minnesota Supreme Court approves disbarment of attorney after fraud conviction in bankruptcy scheme – Bemidji Pioneer

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court has approved an agreement disbarring former Willmar, Minnesota, attorney Gregory Ron Anderson from the practice of law for his felony conviction of fraud.

Gregory Anderson

Gregory Anderson

The Supreme Court issued a news release Tuesday, Jan. 3, stating that it had issued an order Dec. 30 in which it approved the disbarment as sought in a petition from the director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility for Anderson’s alleged professional misconduct.

Anderson, 63, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Dec. 7 to serve 18 months in prison for a conviction of fraud in the bankruptcy proceedings of former Kerkhoven Mayor James Rothers. Anderson must also serve a year of supervised release following his prison term and pay fines of $20,000.

The federal court found that Anderson had created fake liabilities to create the appearance that Rothers was insolvent when, in fact, Rothers could easily have paid all of his creditors, according to information from the U.S. District Attorney’s office.

Rothers pleaded guilty to fraud Dec. 13 and is serving two years of probation.

Anderson had agreed as part of a plea agreement in his case to voluntarily accept disbarment.

Read the rest

Former Rep. John Lesch apologizes to St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson after legal settlement – Twin Cities

A four-year legal defamation case between St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson and former St. Paul lawmaker has been settled out of court. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but John Lesch, a former state representative, has written Olson a letter of apology and shared it with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office.

Olson will receive an undisclosed amount of money from Lesch as well.

“I appreciate the closure the letter brings,” said Olson on Friday. “Receiving an apology is the right result.”

The lawsuit centered around allegedly disparaging remarks that Lesch made about Olson in January 2018, in a wide-ranging letter to then newly-elected St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter listing reasons why Olson would be a bad choice for city attorney.

Lesch, who had previously served in the city attorney’s office and alongside Olson in the Minnesota National Guard, called into question her reputation within the MN Guard’s Judge Advocate General corps. He also asked the mayor for Olson’s disciplinary history within the Guard.

Carter ignored Lesch’s advice and, a few weeks later, Olson sued Lesch for defamation. She argued that he had gone too far in both contacting her employer and raising unsubstantiated claims about

Read the rest