Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. David M. Nelsen , 2011 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 99 ( 2011 )


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  •                IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
    No. 11–0114
    Filed December 9, 2011
    IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY
    DISCIPLINARY BOARD,
    Complainant,
    vs.
    DAVID M. NELSEN,
    Respondent.
    On review of the report of the Grievance Commission of the
    Supreme Court of Iowa.
    An attorney filed a notice of appeal concerning a recommendation
    of the Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa. LICENSE
    REVOKED.
    Charles L. Harrington and Wendell J. Harms, Des Moines, for
    complainant.
    David M. Nelsen, Marana, AZ, pro se.
    2
    WIGGINS, Justice.
    In this attorney disciplinary proceeding, the Iowa Supreme Court
    Attorney Disciplinary Board complains David M. Nelsen, an attorney
    licensed to practice law in the State of Iowa, violated numerous
    provisions of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers. 1
    Nelsen has retired and his license is presently under suspension for his
    failure to pay fees and comply with the continuing legal education
    requirements.
    The charges against Nelsen stem from Nelsen’s representation of
    Hebel & Son Greenhouse, Inc. (Greenhouse) in 2004.                   In early 2004,
    Greenhouse went out of business when it owed the bank roughly $3.6
    million.    At the time, Greenhouse had over $337,000 in accounts
    receivable due and owing, and the bank demanded production of
    accounts receivable checks allegedly received by the corporation and
    deposited into a secret corporate bank account in Nevada.
    The Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa found
    that Nelsen violated numerous provisions of the Iowa Code of
    Professional Responsibility for Lawyers. Specifically, it found that Nelsen
    assisted Greenhouse’s owners in diverting at least $141,335.34 of
    Greenhouse’s accounts receivable from the control of the court-appointed
    receiver.    The commission recommended that we suspend Nelsen’s
    license for two years.
    On our review, we find Nelsen aided and abetted his client in
    defrauding the bank and the receiver of the accounts receivable.
    Accordingly, we revoke Nelsen’s license to practice law in this state.
    1The Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct replaced the Iowa Code of Professional
    Responsibility for Lawyers on July 1, 2005. All of Nelsen’s alleged violations occurred
    prior to July 1, 2005. Therefore, the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for
    Lawyers governs Nelsen’s conduct.
    3
    I. Scope of Review.
    We review attorney disciplinary proceedings de novo.         Iowa
    Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Templeton, 
    784 N.W.2d 761
    , 763
    (Iowa 2010). The Board must prove an attorney’s ethical misconduct by
    a convincing preponderance of the evidence.          Id.   A convincing
    preponderance of the evidence is more than the preponderance standard
    required in the usual civil case, but less than proof beyond a reasonable
    doubt.     Id.   We respectfully consider, but are not bound by, the
    commission’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and disciplinary
    recommendations. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Axt, 
    791 N.W.2d 98
    , 101 (Iowa 2010). Upon proof of misconduct, we may impose
    a greater or lesser sanction than that recommended by the commission.
    Id.
    II. Background Facts and Proceedings.
    On our de novo review, we find the following facts.   Robert and
    Carole Hebel owned Greenhouse, a corporation with facilities in Nora
    Springs and Mason City. Greenhouse primarily wholesaled flowers and
    plants to various retail stores, such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Hy-
    Vee.     Greenhouse obtained construction loans, real estate loans, and
    operating loans from First Citizens National Bank. To secure payment of
    these loans, Greenhouse, Robert, and Carole signed and delivered
    security agreements covering all rights in the future to the payment of
    money, including payments arising out of accounts receivable.
    After Robert was diagnosed with lung cancer, Robert and Carole
    moved to Nevada in 2001, leaving their son and daughter-in-law, Michael
    and Kristi Hebel, to run the business.     Even though Robert lived in
    Nevada, both Kristi and Michael considered Robert to be the major day-
    to-day decision maker on all decisions involving accounts, contracts, and
    4
    operations. Greenhouse began to have financial problems after Robert
    and Carole moved to Nevada. Nelsen acted as Greenhouse’s attorney in
    connection with its financial problems involving First Citizens.
    In late 2002, it became apparent to First Citizens that Greenhouse
    would be unable to pay off its 2001 operating note. First Citizens and
    Greenhouse entered into a forbearance agreement in March 2003, which
    allowed Greenhouse to continue operating.            Nelsen took part in the
    negotiation of the forbearance agreement. In September or October, First
    Citizens realized Greenhouse would not meet its projections.                In
    November, First Citizens notified Greenhouse that it would not advance
    operating capital for 2004.
    In January 2004, Greenhouse owed First Citizens principal of
    about $3.6 million.        On January 7, the bank’s attorney, John Duffy,
    advised Nelsen in a letter that Greenhouse was in default on its March
    2003 credit agreement with First Citizens. The letter indicated that First
    Citizens had made repeated requests for an itemization of Greenhouse’s
    existing accounts receivable and that Greenhouse had not deposited
    proceeds of its accounts receivable into its account at the bank. Kristi
    prepared a summary of the outstanding accounts receivable and
    delivered it to Nelsen. Nelsen delivered the summary to First Citizens.
    At the time, Greenhouse had outstanding accounts receivable totaling
    $337,287.31.
    Greenhouse ceased operations on January 9, 2004.             That same
    day, Duffy wrote another letter to Nelsen requesting that Greenhouse
    deliver   all   existing   accounts   receivable,   vendor   agreements,   and
    documents pertinent to an insurance claim to First Citizens.          Shortly
    thereafter, First Citizens had Greenhouse’s locks changed.
    5
    On January 12, Nelsen wrote a letter to Duffy listing certain
    requests the Hebels were making of First Citizens during the liquidation
    of Greenhouse.    The letter also listed some of the accounts receivable
    owed to Greenhouse. Nelsen delivered the letter to the bank that day.
    First Citizens delivered a letter in response on January 13. In the
    letter, First Citizens raised numerous questions regarding its collateral
    and the conversion of the collateral by Greenhouse.
    On January 14, Nelsen responded to First Citizens’ letter. In this
    letter, Nelsen acknowledged that First Citizens was not going to comply
    with the requests made in his January 12 letter. Because the parties
    could not reach a resolution, Nelsen wrote, “In fact, after today the
    money [received by Greenhouse] would have to be deposited in my trust
    account.” First Citizens relied on Nelsen’s representation that he would
    deposit any accounts receivable he received into his trust account until
    the parties resolved the dispute.
    Prior to this dispute, in late 2003 and early 2004, Kristi knew First
    Citizens   expected   the   accounts       receivable   to   be   deposited   into
    Greenhouse’s account at First Citizens.         Greenhouse’s customers paid
    their invoices by sending checks to a post office box in Nora Springs.
    Although Kristi and Michael originally leased the post office box for their
    personal use, they later shared it with Greenhouse. Because the Nora
    Springs post office did not deliver mail to Greenhouse’s physical address,
    all of Greenhouse’s mail had to be retrieved from the post office box.
    After Greenhouse closed, its customers continued to mail accounts
    receivable payments to the post office box.                  Kristi and Nelsen
    communicated about how to handle the corporate mail. For two to four
    weeks after Greenhouse went out of business, Kristi and Michael picked
    up the mail at the post office box. Kristi separated her personal mail,
    6
    Michael’s personal mail, and junk mail from the corporate mail. From
    her experience sorting the mail, Kristi could distinguish Greenhouse’s
    mail from the other mail in the post office box.         She did not open
    Greenhouse’s mail. After Greenhouse closed, Kristi did not deliver any
    corporate mail directly to Robert, Carole, or First Citizens. Instead, Kristi
    put a rubber band around Greenhouse’s mail, which included all
    accounts receivable payments mailed to the post office box, and delivered
    Greenhouse’s mail to Nelsen.
    On January 15, Nelsen wrote Duffy a letter stating that he had
    personally delivered checks totaling $23,463.77 to First Citizens. Nelsen
    delivered the checks in open envelopes.
    On February 2, First Citizens filed and served Nelsen with a
    petition to foreclose the security interest, an application to take Kristi’s
    deposition, a request for the production of documents, an order granting
    the application to take Kristi’s deposition and shortening the time period
    for the production of documents, a subpoena duces tecum commanding
    Kristi to appear for a deposition and produce the requested documents,
    and an order appointing the vice president of First Citizens, John
    Bleakney, as the receiver.
    The district court gave Bleakney the right to take control of all
    accounts receivable and company records. Bleakney also had the duty
    to see that Greenhouse’s nursery products were maintained and
    subsequently sold and liquidated. The court also required Robert and
    Carole to furnish Bleakney with documents responsive to the request for
    production. Nelsen filed an interlocutory appeal with the supreme court
    on February 12 challenging the order appointing Bleakney as the
    receiver. First Citizens resisted, and we denied Nelsen’s application.
    7
    The request for production included requests for invoices, vendor
    agreements,   documents     relating   to   Greenhouse’s   right   to   collect
    insurance proceeds, checks and cash collected by Greenhouse that were
    not deposited into Greenhouse’s account at First Citizens, keys to the
    offices, insurance policies, computer passwords, and the company’s
    books and records.
    After Kristi did not appear for her February 11 deposition because
    of an illness, First Citizens filed a second application to take Kristi’s
    deposition. The district court granted the application and, once again,
    ordered Kristi to appear for the deposition and bring documents
    responsive to the request for production.      First Citizens served Nelsen
    with the second application to take Kristi’s deposition, the order granting
    the second application, and the subpoena demanding that Kristi appear
    and produce documents.
    On February 13, Kristi appeared for her deposition, but she did not
    bring any documents responsive to the request for production.             Kristi
    testified that she did not have any of the requested documents in her
    possession and could not access them.          Nelsen did not attend the
    deposition.   Instead, Nelsen sent Duffy a letter on the day of Kristi’s
    deposition indicating that Kristi was no longer an officer or employee of
    Greenhouse and, consequently, that he would not attend Kristi’s
    deposition because she was no longer associated with the corporation.
    Nelsen also wrote,
    I am not understanding why there was no negotiation by the
    Bank to get this matter settled without further litigation and
    expense that will never be recouped by anyone.
    On behalf of the Corporation, I believe that Mr. and Mrs.
    Hebel are still willing to get the matter settled, but it appears
    the Bank is unwilling. If that is incorrect, please do not
    hesitate to contact me, but with the realization I will be gone
    8
    until March 1st. Unfortunately, I have had to delay that trip
    for several days but will no longer continue to delay it.
    On February 18, First Citizens filed a motion to compel because it
    still had not received documents or checks. First Citizens also filed a
    petition in replevin to recover and take possession of Greenhouse’s
    tangible equipment. Finally, First Citizens filed a petition for foreclosure
    against Greenhouse. The district court set a hearing on the motion and
    both petitions for March 2. First Citizens served Nelsen with the motion
    and both petitions.
    On March 2, the day of the hearing, Nelsen filed a resistance to the
    motion to compel.       Nonetheless, the court granted the motion and
    ordered Greenhouse, Robert, and Carole to respond to the document
    production request within ten days.
    On March 15, Bleakney and Duffy met with Nelsen at Nelsen’s
    office to review Greenhouse’s records.         Nelsen delivered fourteen
    accounts receivable checks, out of their envelopes, roughly totaling
    $3,962. Nelsen did not produce accounts receivable or accounts payable
    invoices at the meeting. Nelsen told Bleakney and Duffy that Kristi and
    Michael brought him the corporate mail, including checks, proofs of
    delivery, and other communications relative to the invoices. Nelsen also
    informed them that he, in turn, forwarded the mail and checks to Robert
    and Carole in Nevada.
    After this meeting, Bleakney learned that Robert had opened a
    Greenhouse checking account at U.S. Bank in Nevada.                  Robert
    acknowledged he could have opened this account. During late February
    2004, Robert and Carole deposited funds received from Nelsen into this
    account totaling $143,587.26.      They made the deposits as follows:
    $28,795.93 on February 17, $49,028.69 on February 18, $62,392.28 on
    9
    February 19, and $3,370.36 on February 20. Robert acknowledged that
    an endorsement on one of the accounts receivable checks looked like his
    signature.      One additional deposit totaling $898.57 was made on
    March 1.       During the rest of March, fifty-three more checks totaling
    $129,025.53 were deposited into Greenhouse’s account at U.S. Bank in
    Nevada. First Citizens did not receive any of these funds.
    On February 28, Robert wrote a check to Nelsen for $9,505.50 for
    his services drawn from the Greenhouse account in Nevada.            Neither
    Bleakney nor the district court authorized the payment.           The check
    cleared the Greenhouse account on March 15, the same day Nelsen met
    with Bleakney and Duffy.
    On March 24, First Citizens filed a motion of receiver in
    accordance with Iowa Code section 680.10 (2003) to allow Bleakney to
    collect Greenhouse’s assets. First Citizens wanted the district court to
    order Robert and Carole to appear for an examination and bring the
    missing accounts receivable. The court scheduled a hearing for April 2.
    Nelsen filed a motion to continue the hearing because he had been out of
    Iowa and did not have time to prepare. The court continued the hearing
    to April 16.
    At the time, First Citizens was concerned about the discovery
    process because it still did not have the accounts receivable or the
    invoices and felt it was not getting any response. In spite of those facts,
    First Citizens continued to grow plants using Greenhouse’s facilities,
    persisted in identifying buyers for Greenhouse’s equipment, and
    conducted environmental studies on the real estate.
    On April 1, First Citizens filed a motion for sanctions pursuant to
    Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.517.       Specifically, First Citizens sought
    sanctions against Greenhouse, Carole, Robert, and Nelsen. The motion
    10
    stated the documents produced in response to the bank’s request for
    production did not include invoices or proceeds, except for checks
    roughly totaling $3,962.     It further stated a company account was
    opened at U.S. Bank in Nevada into which company proceeds were
    deposited.   It also alleged Nelsen transmitted invoices and proceeds
    through his office to Carole and Robert.        Finally, the motion stated
    Carole, Robert, and Nelsen failed to produce all books and records on a
    continuing basis, as required by the district court.
    The district court scheduled a hearing on the motion for April 16.
    Nelsen appeared at the hearing on behalf of Robert, Carole, and
    Greenhouse. The district court ordered Robert, Carole, and Michael to
    appear in Iowa and submit to examinations. The order stated the district
    court would hold another hearing on April 20 if the parties could not
    agree on a time and place for the examinations.
    On April 19, Duffy sent Nelsen a letter as “the good faith effort of
    First Citizens . . . to resolve the discovery issues raised in the motion for
    sanctions.” The letter asked Nelsen to file responsive pleadings in the
    three cases pending against Greenhouse and its owners. It also repeated
    the request for the production of documents, asked to take depositions,
    and stated, “The cooperation of the Defendants will be appreciated.”
    Specifically, First Citizens sought responsive pleadings to the petition to
    foreclose the security interest, the replevin petition, and the foreclosure
    petition. Nelsen did not respond to Duffy’s letter.
    On April 20, the district court held a hearing attended by
    Bleakney, Duffy, and Nelsen to force the parties to agree on dates for the
    depositions of Robert and Carole. The court ordered Robert and Carole
    to appear personally at Cerro Gordo County Courthouse on May 7.
    Sometime between the hearing and May 7, Nelsen told Duffy that he did
    11
    not think Robert and Carole would appear. Neither Robert nor Carole
    appeared on May 7 for their depositions.
    In the month of April, five more checks totaling $1,420.46 were
    deposited into the Greenhouse bank account in Nevada. First Citizens
    did not receive these funds.
    After Robert and Carole did not appear on May 7, First Citizens
    filed a second motion, requesting that Nelsen submit to a deposition. It
    also filed an amendment to the petition to foreclose the security interest
    to attach the U.S. Bank account in Nevada. The district court ordered
    the attachment of the U.S. Bank account and ordered Nelsen to appear
    on May 17.
    On May 17, Duffy took Nelsen’s deposition. Nelsen asserted that
    the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine prevented him
    from disclosing whether he possessed Greenhouse proceeds or whether
    he knew of the existence of the Greenhouse invoices. Nelsen refused to
    state whether Kristi, Michael, or anyone else had delivered Greenhouse
    checks to him. He also asserted that, while he forwarded mail to Robert
    and Carole in Nevada, either the work-product doctrine or the attorney-
    client privilege prevented him from identifying the contents of the mail.
    Nelsen also indicated that he was no longer Greenhouse’s attorney,
    which explained why he did not file answers in any of the three litigation
    matters proceeding against Greenhouse. However, Nelsen did not file a
    motion to withdraw in any of the three lawsuits.       The district court
    entered default judgments against Greenhouse, Robert, and Carole in all
    three lawsuits.
    In the month of May, a check in the amount of $13,977.49 cleared
    Greenhouse’s U.S. Bank account.      First Citizens did not receive these
    funds either.
    12
    III. Violations.
    We can take disciplinary action against an attorney even if the
    attorney is not actively engaged in the practice of law. Templeton, 784
    N.W.2d at 767.     We can also take action against an attorney whose
    license is under suspension for a reason unrelated to the present
    disciplinary proceeding. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v.
    Netti, 
    797 N.W.2d 591
    , 595 (Iowa 2011). Thus, even though Nelsen is
    now retired and his license is under suspension, we still have the
    authority to sanction him upon a finding that he engaged in a separate
    violation of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers.
    We agree with the commission’s finding that Nelsen assisted
    Robert and Carole in diverting at least $141,335.34 of Greenhouse’s
    accounts receivable from the control of the receiver. We also find that
    Nelsen knowingly approved and agreed to Robert and Carole’s conversion
    of the bank’s funds by actively participating in the conversion.
    We reach this conclusion for a number of reasons. First, Nelsen
    knew of First Citizens’ security interest in the accounts receivable and
    that Greenhouse normally deposited accounts receivable checks into an
    account at First Citizens.     After Greenhouse stopped doing business,
    Nelsen and Kristi discussed how she should handle Greenhouse’s mail.
    They determined that Kristi should pick up the mail and bring it to
    Nelsen’s office. Nelsen knew there were checks in the mail because he
    delivered   open   envelopes   containing   checks   and   checks   without
    envelopes to First Citizens.
    Second, Nelsen knew that a dispute existed between his clients
    and First Citizens.      In his letter dated January 14, 2004, Nelsen
    acknowledged the dispute and represented to First Citizens that he
    would have to deposit any checks he received into his trust account until
    13
    the   dispute   was    resolved.   First   Citizens   relied   upon    Nelsen’s
    representation that he would deposit any checks he received into his
    trust account pending a resolution of the dispute.             In spite of this
    representation, Nelsen delivered some of the checks to the bank while
    mailing most of the checks to Robert and Carole in Nevada. When First
    Citizens discovered Nelsen was not depositing the disputed accounts
    receivable checks into his trust account, it filed three court actions, one
    of which was to appoint a receiver to handle the disputed accounts
    receivable. Even after the appointment of the receiver, Nelsen continued
    to send checks to Robert and Carole in Nevada.
    Finally, Nelsen knew Robert and Carole were depositing the money
    into a bank account in Nevada, not applying it to the debt at First
    Citizens, and converting it to their own use. One indication that Nelsen
    had knowledge of the conversion is that he was a beneficiary of the
    conversion when he received a check from the Nevada account covering
    his attorney fees.
    Although an attorney has a duty to represent his or her client
    zealously, the attorney must do so within the bounds of the law. Iowa
    Code of Prof’l Responsibility Canon 7. In doing so, Nelsen could have
    used any legitimate means to protect his clients’ rights. See id. DR 7–
    102(A)(2). However, in the representation of a client an attorney cannot
    “[k]nowingly make a false statement of . . . fact” or “[c]ounsel or assist a
    client in conduct that the lawyer knows to be illegal or fraudulent.” Id.
    DR 7–102(A)(5), (7).
    Nelsen misrepresented a fact to First Citizens when he said he
    would deposit the disputed funds into his trust account, knowing that he
    had sent the received checks to Robert and Carole in Nevada and that he
    would continue to do so with checks received in the future. Nelsen sent
    14
    the majority of the accounts receivable checks to Nevada. In addition, by
    delivering some of the checks to First Citizens, he led the bank to believe
    he was safeguarding the bank’s security interest. We find that, through
    his conduct, Nelsen knowingly assisted his clients in defrauding the
    bank. We also find that this conduct violates DR 7–102(A)(5) and (7).
    We also agree with the commission that Nelsen’s acts violated
    other provisions of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for
    Lawyers. However, we need only to address Nelsen’s role in aiding and
    abetting his clients in converting First Citizens’ funds to determine the
    appropriate sanction.
    IV. Sanction.
    It is almost axiomatic that we will revoke the license of an attorney
    who converts a client’s funds to his or her own use. Iowa Supreme Ct.
    Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Earley, 
    774 N.W.2d 301
    , 309 (Iowa 2009); Iowa
    Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof’l Ethics & Conduct v. Anderson, 
    687 N.W.2d 587
    ,
    590 (Iowa 2004); Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof’l Ethics & Conduct v.
    Williams, 
    675 N.W.2d 530
    , 533 (Iowa 2004). The same is true where an
    attorney misappropriates the funds of a non-client for his or her personal
    use. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Polsley, 
    796 N.W.2d 881
    ,
    886 (Iowa 2011); Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Carroll, 
    721 N.W.2d 788
    , 792 (Iowa 2006); Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof’l Ethics &
    Conduct v. Bell, 
    650 N.W.2d 648
    , 655 (Iowa 2002).
    We have also held that we can discipline an attorney for aiding and
    abetting a client to commit a crime. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary
    Bd. v. Gailey, 
    790 N.W.2d 801
    , 807 (Iowa 2010).         Further, we have
    revoked the license of an attorney who was convicted of aiding and
    abetting the conversion of social security benefit payments. Polsley, 796
    N.W.2d at 883, 886. We are unable to find an Iowa case that requires us
    15
    to revoke an attorney’s license when the attorney aids and abets a client
    in converting the funds of others, but who is not convicted of the
    criminal act. However, we have disciplined an attorney where we found
    evidence sufficient to establish the commission of a crime even though
    the attorney was not charged with or convicted of the crime.         Iowa
    Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Lustgraaf, 
    792 N.W.2d 295
    , 299,
    302 (Iowa 2010). Thus, we must decide whether revocation is the proper
    sanction when an attorney aids and abets a client in converting funds,
    without receiving any personal gain from those funds, and he is not
    charged with or convicted of a crime.
    We start with the long-standing policy of this state regarding
    attorneys who convert the funds of others. We have said,
    [W]e have previously indicated conversion of client funds by
    lawyers will not be tolerated. We have also emphasized our
    obligation to protect the public from theft and deceit. The
    public, as well as the bar, needs to know disbarment will
    nearly always follow such wrongdoing.
    Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof’l Ethics & Conduct v. Carr, 
    588 N.W.2d 127
    ,
    129 (Iowa 1999) (emphasis added) (citations omitted).
    This policy makes it clear that it is almost certain that we will
    revoke the license of any attorney involved in the conversion of funds.
    Although Nelsen did not receive a personal gain other than his legal fees,
    he knowingly and willfully participated in his client’s scheme to defraud
    First Citizens when his clients converted the funds owed to the bank.
    Nelsen’s clients were able to convert the bank’s funds because Nelsen
    knowingly made false representations to First Citizens that he would
    protect the accounts receivable by depositing them into his trust account
    until the parties resolved the legal dispute. Nelsen strung First Citizens
    along by delivering some of the checks to First Citizens, while at the
    16
    same time sending the majority of the checks to his clients in Nevada.
    Nelsen allowed the conversion of funds to take place over an extended
    period of time by not responding diligently to the legal actions filed by
    First Citizens.     Finally, when the court appointed a receiver, Nelsen
    continued to send checks to his clients in Nevada in contravention of
    court orders.
    Given Nelsen’s aiding and abetting in the conversion of First
    Citizens’ funds, and the seriousness of the ethical violations as
    established by the evidence, we can only reach one conclusion—the
    appropriate sanction is revocation of Nelsen’s license to practice law. 2
    V. Disposition.
    For all of the reasons stated in this opinion, the license of the
    respondent, David M. Nelsen, is revoked effective with the filing of this
    opinion.    We assess the costs to the respondent as provided in Iowa
    Court Rule 35.26(1).
    LICENSE REVOKED.
    2Other   states have not hesitated to revoke the license of an attorney who has
    been convicted of aiding and abetting a fraud or theft. See, e.g., In re Smith, 
    794 P.2d 601
     (Ariz. 1990); Cambiano v. Ligon, 
    44 S.W.3d 719
     (Ark. 2001); In re Severo, 
    714 P.2d 1244
     (Cal. 1986); In re DeRose, 
    55 P.3d 126
     (Colo. 2002); People v. Bruun, 
    764 P.2d 1165
     (Colo. 1988); In re Wilson, 
    740 A.2d 37
     (D.C. 1999); In re Moore, 
    686 So. 2d 816
    (La. 1997); In re King, 
    646 So. 2d 326
     (La. 1994); Bar Ass’n of Baltimore City v. Snyder,
    
    331 A.2d 47
     (Md. 1975); In re Keller, 
    135 A.2d 321
     (N.J. 1957); In re Young, 
    866 N.Y.S.2d 350
     (N.Y. App. Div. 2008); Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Bertram, 
    707 N.E.2d 464
     (Ohio 1999); State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass’n v. Crabtree, 
    907 P.2d 1045
     (Okla.
    1995).