Bossier City attorney Michael David Cox has been suspended on an interim basis following a Jan. 26 Louisiana Supreme Court order, a little more than two years after he and his wife were arrested for allegedly stealing from a dying man.
The Supreme Court handed down its single-page order after the office of disciplinary counsel filed for Cox's suspension for "threat of harm". Cox also filed a response, according to the high court's order.
Cox's suspension is effective until further court order. The office of disciplinary counsel was given leave to appoint a trustee to protect the interest of Cox's clients, according to the order.
Cox was admitted to the Louisiana bar Dec. 14, 1990, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Cox and his wife, Sharon, were arrested on theft and money laundering charges in November 2015 following a 20-month Bossier Sheriff's Office investigation. Cox was accused of felony theft, for allegedly creating and notarizing wills and deeds, money laundering, and for allegedly benefiting financially from money obtained illegally. Cox also was charged with false notarizing for allegedly filing and maintaining false public records.
The allegations arose after one of Cox's clients made Sharon Cox the client's power of attorney and then Michael David Cox drew up a will making Sharon Cox the client's heir, disinheriting the client's only child, a minor at the time.
The man died Feb. 16, 2014. Another attorney who had been contacted by the man the previous year contacted the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, alleging the Coxes had been scamming the man, according to a later appeals court ruling.
A civil suit on the minor child's behalf was filed in October 2015.
A trial court later invalidated the man's will for undue influence and mental incapacity and declared cash sale deeds in the case null and void, a decision affirmed on appeal by the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in December 2016.