Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct v. Jones
Iowa Supreme Court
606 N.W.2d 5 (2000)
Attorney Oscar Jones (defendant) was asked by Leon Currie, who claimed to be owed $25.3 million from a Nigerian pipeline deal, to help find a lender for a $5,000 insurance premium in exchange for a $2 million annuity, and Jones never verified Currie's story even after several banks and individuals refused the loan due to obvious risk. Jones then approached his former client Delbert Jones, telling him Currie would repay $15,000 within thirty days and that Currie could be trusted, without disclosing that others had already declined the loan or that Currie had promised Jones a personal annuity for his help; relying on Jones's assurances, Delbert borrowed and forwarded the $5,000, was never repaid by Currie, and ultimately had to pay off the loan himself with interest after obtaining extensions.
Whether an attorney may be found in violation of rules of professional responsibility for making misrepresentations of fact in a business transaction, regardless of any intent to defraud.