ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando lawyer had his law license suspended by the Florida Supreme Court after the Florida Bar accused him of using his clients' trust fund accounts for his own personal use. He allegedly bought airline tickets, a luxury sports car, and made out checks to himself.
The Florida Bar has now suspended attorney Clint Johnson of the Johnson Law Group. Documents accuse him of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars of his clients' money.
The Attorney General is also investigating Johnson. The Attorney General's Office said it has received at least 24 complaints for consumer trade violations.
In the meantime, the Florida Supreme Court has suspended his license for possible misuse of funds.
Johnson is well-known for representing local barber shops who sued the Orange County Sheriff's Office and state for a series of barbershop inspections. He's also an attorney for the Civil Rights Association.
"I know and my clients know I haven't taken anything from anybody," Johnson said.
The Florida bar spent eight months investigating Johnson and filed court documents stating he misappropriated funds.
Documents show numerous transfers of funds for his personal use, including cash withdrawals, vehicle payments, various purchases, airline tickets, donations and restaurants.
An audit revealed the attorney wrote a $20,000 check to himself, put down an $8,000 deposit on a Porsche Panamera and spent thousands on airline tickets.
Although the audit does not link Johnson's home purchase to the accounts, he spent $756,000 on a gated Sanford home. Johnson said one of his employees made some bookkeeping mistakes.
"He voided and credits the funds back to his clients. He believes the allegations are not true," Johnson said.
"Are you saying the Florida Bar's auditor is lying?" WFTV reporter Mary Nguyen asked Johnson.
"I'm not saying he's lying, I'm just saying his information is bad," he replied.
Johnson is now asking the court to allow him to continue to practice under strict guidelines. He says he needs to continue to disburse funds on behalf of the 13,000 clients he represents.