BENTONVILLE — A Lowell attorney, already convicted of forgery, has been arrested in connection with stealing money from a client.
Steven Jackson, 41, was arrested Wednesday by Bentonville police in connection with theft of property, a Class D felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging up to six years in prison. Jackson was released from the Benton County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
Dwayne Butler told police he hired Jackson to represent him in a civil lawsuit in January or February 2011. Jackson, who worked out of the Dossey Law Firm, assisted Butler with the lawsuit by reaching a settlement agreement, which called for Butler and his ex-wife to pay $5,000 to the state. They each were suppose to pay half, according to the complaint.
Butler claimed he made cash payments to Jackson for his legal services, and then in October 2011 he went to the law firm and paid $2,950 in cash. The money was for his half of the settlement and his remaining legal fees, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Butler told police he was notified by the state the settlement payment was never received, according to court documents.
Butler said the law firm was cooperating with him by gathering documentation, but Jackson had been terminated after an arrest for forging legal documents. Butler said the firm urged him to file an ethics complaint against Jackson, but denied any financial responsibility for Jackson’s actions since he was a contract employee, according to the affidavit.
Jackson faced a first-degree forgery charge and interfering with child custody after his arrest in Washington County in August. A detective reported his investigation found Jackson had turned over a child custody order that appeared to be signed by a judge and gave custody to his client.
In June, the client and his mother drove to Saline County, where the child and his mother live, according to the report. The pair brought the child back to Washington County after giving the order to the mother.
The client later discovered the order was fraudulent and returned the child to his mother, according to the report.
Jackson was arrested after a search of his Lowell home and acknowledged forging the document during an interview, according to the report.
Jackson pleaded guilty to the forgery charge on Nov. 16 in Washington County Circuit Court. He was fined $1,000; ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and agreed to surrender his law license.
Nancie Givens, deputy director of the Arkansas Committee on Professional Committee, said a petition was filed Thursday on Jackson’s behalf for him to surrender his law license.