Arlean D. Moreta Beckford

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Attorney borrowed J$4,000,000 from the Complainant, a long-standing client, telling him she needed funds to repay another client whose sale proceeds she had lent to a friend. She repaid J$1,400,000 about six months later but J$2,600,000 (evidenced by a Promissory Note dated 8 February 2011) remained unpaid. The Committee found she abused the attorney-client relationship and failed to advise the Complainant to obtain independent legal advice. The Attorney did not attend the hearings, which proceeded in her absence under Rule 8. The Panel found her guilty of professional misconduct in breach of Canons I(b) and VII(b)/VIII(b). No express finding of dishonesty was made. A separate Sanction Hearing was to be fixed; no sanction was imposed in this decision.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Abuse of the attorney-client relationship by borrowing from a client
• Failure to advise the client to seek independent legal advice
• Failure to repay the outstanding J$2,600,000
• Non-attendance at hearings despite proper notice