TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Suspended West Palm Beach attorney Ethan Marcus Wayne has been voluntarily disbarred following an April 25 Florida Supreme Court order and his guilty plea to felony health care fraud, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Wayne pleaded guilty to the felony of engaging in a monetary transaction affecting interstate commerce by, through and to a financial institution, in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000 that is, property derived from health care fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1957 and 2," the state bar said in its April 30 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order.
In its two-page order, the high court accepted Wayne's petition for disciplinary revocation, tantamount to disbarment, with leave to seek readmission after five years and ordered him to pay $1,250 in costs.
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 Wayne's disbarment.
Attorneys disbarred in Florida generally cannot reapply for admission for five years and must pass an extensive process that includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam.
Wayne was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 26, 2007, according to his profile at the state bar website. Wayne has been under a court ordered suspension order since February, according to his petition for disciplinary revocation.
His suspension followed his plea agreement in September in which he entered his guilty plea in U.S. District Court for Florida's Southern District.
The previous August, Wayne was charged with one felony count of engaging in a monetary transaction affecting interstate commerce in criminally derived property. "The information further alleged that the unlawful activity was healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud," the petition said.
The Southern District also issued a suspension order in February, according to an administrative order signed by Chief District Judge K. Michael Moore.