An attorney who has been unsuccessfully fighting mask mandates and COVID-19 policies in schools in the Seacoast and across the state has temporarily lost his law license.
The state Supreme Court suspended the law license of Robert Fojo, barring him from practicing law in New Hampshire on Dec. 21 over allegations he mishandled nearly $100,000 in client funds, according to court documents.
In the order, the New Hampshire Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Office (ADO) alleged Fojo’s office misappropriated two personal injury cases in the amount of $14,666.67 from one client, $33,350 from another client, and has engaged in the mishandling of an additional $50,020 of client funds held in trust under his control.
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The allegations were first brought forward by a client of Fojo’s who alleged she never received her settlement money from her personal injury case Fojo settled in early December 2020. The Attorney Discipline Office alleges after inconsistent communication and payments, Fojo’s office used the funds of other clients to pay the client once he was out of trust, meaning he didn’t have the cash flow to pay it himself.
An investigation into his bookkeeping found the other misappropriated funds, which the Attorney Discipline Office reported to the court.
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Fojo has yet to win any of his cases related to mask mandates and COVID-19 policies in schools, none of which are related to the reason his law license was suspended.
His anti-mask mandate lawsuits includes one filed in the Exeter area against the SAU 16 district and another lawsuit against eight districts, including several in Strafford County, including Dover, Rochester, Somersworth and Oyster River.
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In September, Rockingham Superior Court Judge Marguerite Wageling called the number of lawsuits challenging face mask requirements in schools filed by Fojo an attempt to “play whack-a-mole” with the court system and questioned whether continuing to take similar cases was helping his paying clients.
The lawsuit filed by Fojo on behalf of 22 Exeter area parents from the SAU 16 district requesting an injunction against its mask-wearing policy was tossed in October, but there was an appeal filed in November.
Wageling said instead of continuing to file complaints against school mask requirements in various courthouses, an appeal should be made to the state Supreme Court to achieve “finality” in the matter so “the (financial) resources of your clients and resources of the various school districts can be minimized.”
More:Exeter area parents fighting SAU 16 mask rule get day in court. Judge lectures attorney.
In October, Fojo filed a new lawsuit on behalf of a newly formed nonprofit calling itself Parents Unite for Kids Health against eight local school districts, challenging the adoption of mask mandates in the Dover School District, Barrington School District, Derry School District, Milford School District, Newmarket School District, Oyster River Cooperative School District, Rochester School District and Somersworth School District. This case is still awaiting a final order from the judge.
Fojo has filed his intent to challenge his suspension and will appear before a judge on Jan. 4.
Attorney Discipline Office lawyers stated in the court documents that Fojo in misappropriating client funds, “there is a danger that Mr. Fojo will continue this course of conduct if he is not suspended from the practice of law.”
In court documents, Fojo admits to what his attorney called bookkeeping errors, stating: “I never misappropriated the funds from [the client’s] settlement or intended to deprive her of them in any fashion. I would never do that to a client. What occurred was an internal error that I failed to correct in due time, and I have since taken steps to rectify it.”
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Fojo is represented by the law office of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau and Pachios. Fojo’s lawyers are fighting the suspension, stating in a court motion that it is unnecessary since he cooperated with the investigation and while the errors in the accounts were “unfortunate,” errors like that are “not as rare as comets.” The motion also urged that by seeking suspension, the Attorney Discipline Office is “signaling to future respondents that cooperation (in an investigation) is the wrong course of action.”
According to court documents, an attorney from the state’s Attorney Discipline Office has been assigned to take possession of Fojo’s files to return to clients but will not take on any of his legal cases. Fojo has been ordered to notify his clients and any financial institutions of his law suspension. The state’s Attorney Discipline Office said that pending Tuesday’s hearing, Fojo’s clients will need to find new counsel if the court approves the suspension.
Fojo and his attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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