Richard Petty, former Clearwater city attorney, was suspended from practicing law for at least two years by the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday, Oct. 22, for a number of infractions noted by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.
Petty was accused of submitting false or fraudulent evidence to the court in two instances and offering financial settlements to two clients in an effort to have them drop disciplinary complaints made against him.
He was further accused of making false statements to clients, forging the signature of a client, taking an online credit counseling course for another client, and failing to file a bankruptcy petition for a client. He has also admitted to mingling client and business funds.
The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility sought to have Petty disbarred or suspended, claiming that he failed to acknowledge repeated efforts to have him respond to allegations against him.
Petty is also scheduled to stand trial in December on four gross misdemeanor charges and four misdemeanor charges for operating an illegal lottery in St. Cloud, a sweepstakes business that was raided by state gambling enforcement officials, according to the St. Cloud Times.