A Central Florida attorney was arrested last week and charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing more than $1.7 million from the living trust account of a deceased Polk County man, the county’s Sheriff’s Office reported.
Jason Penrod, 47, the owner of Family Elder Law P.A. in Lake Worth, was arrested Sept. 4 by Marion County deputies on a warrant issued by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, whose investigation showed that he allegedly stole funds from other clients as well.
The arrest comes on the heels of an investigation into Penrod’s activities by the Florida State Bar. In addition, Sherry Prevoznik and Charles Anderson, the adult children of the late David D. Anderson, sued Penrod on Aug. 21 in the 10th Judicial Circuit Court. Anderson`s living trust was executed by Penrod in 2014, according to the lawsuit.
On June 4, the attorney gave Charles Anderson a letter in which he confessed to taking the trust account funds beginning in October of last year, according to the legal complaint.
“The defendant confessed to plaintiffs that over the next three months, he frequently transferred funds from the trust account to the defendant’s personal account, and then wired said funds to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa … until the trust funds were completely exhausted,” the lawsuit states.
Penrod acknowledged that he lost all of the funds – $1.75 million – while gambling at the casino, according to the legal complaint.
“We can confirm that we have an open investigation,” Jennifer Krell Davis, the director of the Florida Bar’s Communications Division, said in an email to the Florida Record. “... The underlying discipline case remains open and confidential regardless of Penrod’s Petition for Disciplinary Revocation without Leave to Apply for Readmission.”
That petition was filed with the state Supreme Court on Sept. 3 and would revoke Penrod`s Florida Bar membership. If the high court approves the petition, then all pending disciplinary cases against him would be dismissed. In the petition, Penrod promises to reimburse the Florida Bar`s Clients’ Security Fund for any claims paid out due to his misconduct.
“(The) petitioner’s former associate and an attorney representing the beneficiaries of a living trust reported that petitioner has misappropriated funds from the living trust,” Penrod’s filing states. “Petitioner also self-reported that he misappropriated funds from two trusts in which he was the trustee.”
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release about Penrod’s arrest provides excerpts from the attorney’s letter to David Anderson’s children. Penrod claimed that he was dealing with mental and personal stress and used gambling to to cope with his problems.
“... Being out of money and having a personal bank account at the same bank holding the trust funds, the perfect storm ensued in October 2023,” the letter says. “... Over the next 3 months, I frequently transferred funds from your trust account to my personal account” to fund the attorney`s gambling addiction.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called the situation heartbreaking for the family members who lost inheritance funds.
“We rely on lawyers to uphold the law and demonstrate integrity,” Judd said in a prepared statement. “Penrod did neither. His excuses are just that – he promised when he was given his license to practice law that he would protect his clients – and he has done the exact opposite.”
Penrod’s practice included estate planning, asset protection, and probate and estate administration.