Disbarred lawyer faces identity theft charges

CLEARWATER -- A former attorney who was disbarred last year was charged earlier this month with stealing the identity of one of his clients, then buying a $250,000 home in Atlanta and opening credit card accounts in the client's name.

Iric Vonn Spears, 37, of Clearwater was arrested Dec. 4 on four charges of grand theft, two charges of mortgage fraud, one charge of identity fraud and nine charges of forgery. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail Thursday after posting $150,000 bail.

Authorities say Spears assumed the identity of Reginald Dalton, whom he met at a social function in August 2000.

After their meeting, Dalton hired Spears to represent him in an employment contract dispute with a former employer. To represent Dalton, Spears obtained personal information and employment documents from Dalton, according to an affidavit written by Robert D. Ulmer, a white-collar crime investigator with the State Attorney's Office.

But Dalton later learned that Spears had purchased a residence in Atlanta for $250,000 in Dalton's name without his knowledge, the affidavit states.

Dalton found out about the purchase after the bank called to tell him they were foreclosing on the Atlanta property, which he knew nothing about. Ulmer obtained documents from the closing that contained Dalton's signature, which had been forged by Spears, the affidavit states.

Ulmer also learned that Spears had attended the closing on the property, saying he was there representing Dalton. Spears received $63,500 after the closing for legal services and repairs, money he was not entitled to have, Ulmer wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Spears also used Dalton's personal information to open two credit card accounts in Dalton's name, then ran up about $7,900 in purchases, the affidavit states.

Spears had a practice in St. Petersburg, but the Florida Supreme Court disbarred him in April 2001. The disbarment was retroactive to April 1998, according to the Florida Bar Association.

According to the bar, Spears failed to properly hold a client's funds in trust, then didn't notify the client of a settlement or deliver the funds to the client.

Spears, who had been in practice in Florida since 1992, had agreed in 1998 to a three-year suspension from practicing law, but was disbarred when another complaint arose against him, according to the bar.

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