Bennett Loudon//January 23, 2025//
A previously disbarred attorney has been fined $1,000 for continuing to work as a lawyer.
The Grievance Committee of the Fifth Judicial District recommended the fine to the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Fourth Department, which imposed the fine.
Joseph M. Hobaica was admitted to practice law in June 2004 and had an office in Utica, Oneida County.
In June 2009, the Fourth Department disbarred Hobaica after he was convicted of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class D felony.
In May, the Grievance Committee filed a motion for an order punishing Hobaica for criminal contempt of court, based on allegations that he willfully disobeyed the Fourth Department’s disbarment order by holding himself out as an attorney and offering to provide legal services for a fee.
The deadline for a written response to the charges was July 24, 2024. Hobaica did not file any response, failed to appear on the scheduled day in September, and never contacted the Court.
Subsequently, Hobaica asked for an adjournment, which was denied.
“Accordingly, this Court finds respondent in default on the motion for contempt and deems admitted the allegations contained therein,” the Fourth Department wrote.
After being disbarred in 2009, Hobaica maintained a website for a business known as 123 Credit Restoration, where he offered to perform “credit restoration services” for members of the public in exchange for a fee, according to the Fourth Department’s order.
The services included credit score improvement, removal of negative items from credit reports, and protection from debt collectors, the court wrote.
The website for 123 Credit Restoration and advertisements he placed on social media platforms misleadingly cited Hobaica’s legal background and prior experience as an attorney, including the statement that he was a “former bank attorney,” without disclosing that he had been disbarred in 2009.
In 2023, he was contacted by two prospective clients seeking credit restoration services. In response, he identified himself as an attorney and collected fees of $299 and $499 from them, respectively.
Hobaica failed to perform the promised credit restoration services, according to the court. When the clients requested a refund or complained about the lack of results, he threatened to negatively affect their credit ratings by reporting a collections claim against them or freezing their credit reports or bank accounts, according to the order.
“The conduct of a disbarred or suspended attorney in failing to advise clients of a disbarment or suspension, holding oneself out as an attorney, agreeing to accept legal fees, and continuing to engage in the practice of law constitutes criminal contempt of court in violation of Judiciary Law,” the court wrote.
“A disbarred attorney who fails to disclose their disbarment under circumstances warranting such disclosure has improperly held themselves out as an attorney and engaged in criminal contempt,” the court wrote.
“We conclude that he held himself out as an attorney, including his use of the title of attorney, in contemptuous disregard of this Court’s order of disbarment,” the court ruled, and ordered Hobaica to pay a fine of $1,000.
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