Baton Rouge attorney Peggy M. Hairston Robinson has been permanently disbarred following a Dec. 6 Louisiana Supreme Court disciplinary proceeding after her 2012 arrest on theft charges and a state investigation into alleged misconduct with multiple mortgage loan clients.
Robinson was arrested in June 2012 by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office on felony theft and forgery charges after a client filed a complaint that property had not been transferred and $34,000 was never returned him, according to the high court's 36-page disciplinary proceeding. "After failing to appear before the court for trial on numerous occasions, she pleaded guilty to felony theft on May 19, 2015," the disciplinary proceeding said.
The Louisiana State Bar's office of disciplinary counsel alleged Robinson engaged in misconduct while acting as a mortgage loan originator and mortgage broker and real estate agent, according to the disciplinary proceeding. In one complaint against Robinson, she was alleged to have overcharged one couple for credit reports, improperly assessed or was paid fees in advance of their loan closing and to have taken unauthorized actions on their behalf, the disciplinary proceeding said.
Robinson also was ordered to pay restitution to her former clients and all costs and expenses in the matter, according to the disciplinary proceeding
Robinson was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 15, 1983, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar's website.
Complaints against Robinson, including the one filed by the couple in July 2002, prompting a Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions investigation, according to the disciplinary proceeding and a state bar hearing department's report filed in June 2016. The OFI revoked Robinson's mortgage originator’s and broker's licenses, an action affirmed in November 2003 by an administrative law judge over Robinson's objections, according to the hearing department's report.
Robinson was suspended on an interim basis following a March 2015 order by the state high court.
The state bar hearing committee's report including its recommendation that Robinson be disbarred following her arrest and allegations she practiced law while suspended, violated conflict of interest rules and committed other misconduct.
The office of disciplinary counsel filed formal charges against Robinson in August 2015, according to the state supreme court's attorney disciplinary proceeding.