People v. Richard Charles Bagdasarian. 16PDJ039. May 9, 2016. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and disbarred Richard Charles Bagdasarian (attorney registration number 30576). The disbarment took effect May 9, 2016.
On October 25, 2007, the Supreme Court of Florida disbarred Bagdasarian for converting $1,176,753.26 in funds from approximately forty-one clients for his own purposes and for making material misrepresentations to conceal the conversions from his clients. The Supreme Court of Florida concluded that Bagdasarian violated Rules Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.15 (a lawyer shall comply with the rules regulating trust accounts), 4-8.4(a) (a lawyer shall not violate or attempt to violate the rules of professional conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another), 4-8.4(b) (a lawyer shall not commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer), 4-8.4(c) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), 4-8.4(d) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice), 5-1.1(a)(1) (a lawyer shall hold funds and property belonging to a client or third party in trust), and 5-1.1(b) (a lawyer shall hold money or other property entrusted to the lawyer for a specific purpose in trust).
Bagdasarian did not notify the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel of his disbarment in 2007, as he was required to do under C.R.C.P. 251.28. The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel discovered that Bagdasarian had been disbarred in Florida after conducting an online search.
Bagdasarian’s misconduct constitutes grounds for reciprocal discipline under C.R.C.P. 251.5 and 251.21, which call for imposition of the same discipline as that imposed in Florida.