Miami attorney Anett Lopez has been voluntarily and permanently disbarred following a Nov. 2 Florida Supreme Court order after she was arrested last year on insurance fraud charges, according to a recent Florida Bar announcement.
The state supreme court issued its two-page order of disciplinary revocation, tantamount to disbarment, without leave to seek readmission. Lopez was suspended in April and her permanent disbarment was effective immediately, according to the order of disciplinary revocation, which also required her to pay $1,250 in costs.
The Florida State Bar announced the discipline and the Supreme Court's order Dec. 28. In Florida court orders are not final until after time to file a rehearing motion expires.
Lopez, 43, was admitted to the Florida bar Jan. 24, 2005, according to her profile at the state bar website.
Her arrest for alleged involvement in a personal injury protection (PIP) fraud scheme that racked up almost $1.5 million in financial losses was announced in a news release issued in July 2016 by then Florida chief financial officer Jeff Atwater. "Lopez allegedly filed numerous lawsuits demanding payment for treatment of patients at Care Resources Group LLC, a PIP clinic in Miami that fraudulently operated under a straw ownership," the release said.
Lopez was suspended indefinitely in April following a high state court order that month for failing to comply with a subpoena and to respond to the state bar's inquiries. She filed her petition for disciplinary revocation Sept. 19. At that time, criminal charges against her were pending before the 11th Judicial Circuit, according to her petition.
In a previous discipline, Lopez was suspended for 10 days following a February 2012 state supreme court order for notarizing documents improperly, failing to properly supervise a non-attorney assistant and misapplication of funds received for payment of client costs.
She received another 10-day suspension following a March 2014 state high court order for overdrafts issued against her trust account and lacking diligence in a child custody case. That order is not available online but the discipline is detailed in the consent judgment filed prior to that order.