A longtime lawyer in Loudon must pay back $25,000 and serve four
years unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to theft.
Arthur Wayne Henry pleaded guilty Dec. 10 to a class C felony of
theft of property.
Henry will pay back $25,000 to Danny Leonard, according to the plea
agreement.
In addition to $1,000 that has already been repaid, Henry is to make
payments in monthly installments of no less than $500 beginning
March 19 until the full amount is paid.
“The defendant is attempting to sell real estate at this time and if
he is able to do so he shall pay the full amount due at that time,”
the agreement reads. “In the event he should miss any installments
due under the agreement, then he shall immediately be required to
appear before the court and show cause why he should not be
transferred to supervised probation.”
Henry must also pay $500 to the 9th Judicial District Attorney
General’s Office Fraud and Economic Crime Fund as well as court
costs associated with the case.
As part of Henry’s probation, he must appear before the court to
report on his progress of paying back the $25,000. The first report
will be heard Aug. 19.
Henry represented himself in the case and waived both his right to
trial by jury and his right to appointed counsel.
The charges date back to April when Henry reported to Loudon County
General Sessions Court Judge Rex Dale that he had “taken client
funds and used them for his own personal benefit in the estate of
Cassie B. Leonard,” which was a probate case opened Nov. 10, 2008,
according to an affidavit filed by Dale.
The case related to a reimbursement claim of $82,905.31 made by
TennCare. The estate was to sell real estate to pay administrative
expenses “with the remainder to be paid to TennCare,” Dale said in
the affidavit.
The real estate sold for $25,000 and had administrative costs of
$2,337 and an executor fee of $1,500. A hearing for closing the
estate was set for April 17, which is when Henry admitted taking the
remaining funds.
“The exact total amount taken by Mr. Henry is not known at this
time, but appears to be between $21,000 and $22,000,” the affidavit
reads. The funds should have paid the TennCare claim after the
payment of administration expenses and fees.
As a result of the affidavit from Dale, Henry was temporarily
suspended April 19 from the practice of law by the Board of
Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
A release from the board stated that Henry “has misappropriated
funds and poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”
Henry was handed April 30 a second suspension of one year and
one day.
According to a release related to the second suspension, “In one
case, Mr. Henry agreed to accept a settlement offer without
advising his clients. He received a $5,000 settlement check but
did not advise his clients. The settlement check was never
cashed. Mr. Henry did not respond to a show cause order
requiring him to show cause why an order of compromise and
settlement had not been entered and the case was dismissed
without prejudice.”
The release also mentions cases in which Henry “did not
diligently pursue a divorce petition” and “did not diligently
pursue a divorce matter.” In both cases, Henry is cited with not
adequately communicating with his client.
Both suspensions followed a public censure against Henry on
April 16. According to the censure, “Henry was retained to
represent a client in a domestic case in which the client
desired to relocate her child to another state,” in September
2017. The client discovered three months later that Henry had
taken no action to file a petition to relocate or answer the
opposing party’s petition.
Henry refunded the client’s fees after he was confronted about
inactivity on the case.
The latest censure was the third for Henry is an many years. He
was publicly censured April 11, 2017, and Jan. 25, 2016. He was
also censured in April 2010.