TALLAHASSEE — Hialeah attorney Eric Allen Waraftig has been indefinitely suspended following a Sept. 26 Florida Supreme Court order and his conviction for wire fraud and conspiracy in a scheme to bilk a cable shopping network, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Waraftig was adjudicated guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in a scheme to defraud QVC Inc.," the state bar said in its Oct. 31 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order.
Waraftig, convicted in August, currently is serving his 18-month sentence at the federal government's medium security penitentiary in Lompoc, California, according to court documents and an online federal inmate search. Upon his release, currently set for January 2020, Waraftig will be subject to three years' supervised probation. Waraftig also was ordered to pay more than $740,000 in restitution.
Although currently in prison, the Florida Supreme Court made Waraftig's suspension effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow time to close his practice and protect his existing clients' interests.
Florida court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion does not alter the effective date of Waraftig's suspension.
The U.S. District Court for South Florida also suspended Waraftig in October. Waraftig was admitted to the bar in Florida on March 21, 1996, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Waraftig's state bar profile.
Waraftig pleaded guilty Aug. 24 to the wire fraud and conspiracy counts in U.S. District Court for Pennsylvania's Eastern District, according to the notice of determination or judgment of guilt file with the court by the state bar. He was ordered to surrender to federal authorities on Oct. 1 to begin serving his sentence.