OCTOBER 1, 2026, DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 20 attorneys, disbarring one, revoking the license of three, suspending 15, and reprimanding one.

Jonathan Richard Comnes, 3690 W. Gandy Blvd., Suite 129, Tampa, suspended and held in Contempt of Court, effective 30 days following the August 12 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1993) Comnes failed to respond to official Bar inquiries regarding a pending Bar complaint. On March 11, The Florida Bar filed a Petition for Contempt and Order to Show Cause with the Florida Supreme Court. On August 12, the Florida Supreme Court granted The Florida Bar’s petition, held Comnes in contempt, and suspended him from the practice of law until he has fully responded in writing to the official Bar inquiries and until further order of the court. (Case No. SC2026-0390)

Garrett Alan Dennis, Sr., 9 Fort Caroline Court, Palm Coast, suspended until Dennis fully responds in writing to official Bar inquiries and until further order of the court, effective 30 days following a September 25 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2020) The Florida Supreme Court granted The Florida Bar’s Petition for Contempt and Order to Show Cause and held Dennis in contempt for failing to respond to multiple official Bar inquiries. (Case No. SC2026-0989)

Alex Finch, P.O. Box 915096, Longwood, suspended for one year and required attendance at the Ethics School and Trust Accounting Workshop, effective 30 days following a September 10 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1992) Finch charged and collected improper, excessive fees, which resulted in a conflict of interest between Finch and his client. Finch also failed to properly maintain required trust account records and contingency fee documents, and he employed a disbarred lawyer as a paralegal without providing the required notice and quarterly reports to The Florida Bar. (Case No. SC2024-0238)

Daniel Allen Fox, P.O. Box 7584, Winter Haven, suspended until Fox fully responds in writing to official Bar inquiries and until further order of the court, effective 30 days following a September 25 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2012) Fox failed to respond to official Bar inquiries and to the court’s Order to Show Cause. (Case No. SC2026-1016)

Joseph Anthony Gasparro, P.O. Box 350196, Jacksonville, suspended for 91 days effective immediately following a September 28 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2015) Gasparro was held in contempt for failing to submit a sworn affidavit pursuant to Rule 3-5.1(b) attesting to notifying clients, opposing counsel, and tribunals of his suspension. The 91-day suspension is effective immediately. (Case No. SC2026-0566)

Melissia K. Gauthreaux, P.O. Box 2065, Dunedin, interim suspension effective immediately following a September 23 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2010) The court granted the Bar’s Petition for Interim Suspension. On April 21, Gauthreaux was indicted for six felony counts of Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S. C. §1343. The indictment indicates that between 2017 and 2021, Gauthreaux perpetrated a fraudulent scheme for her personal enrichment. Specifically, through a full-service accounting firm where she is the founder, president, and managing member, she is alleged to have embezzled, at least $883,774.26 from financial accounts a victim held at a financial institution. The federal case remains pending. (Case No. SC2026-0967)

Francisco Javier Gonzalez, 1525 International Parkway, Suite 4021, Heathrow, interim felony suspension effective 30 days following a September 28 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2004) Gonzalez was arrested in Seminole County, Florida, pursuant to an active arrest warrant issued by authorities in Los Angeles County, California. Gonzalez waived extradition and was transported to California where he was charged with the following felonies: Conspiracy to Commit a Crime; Attempted Murder — Willful, Deliberate, and Premeditated; and Solicitation of Murder. The charges are currently pending. (Case No. SC2026-1053)

Josh A. Howard, 549 2nd St. N., Apt. 2, St. Petersburg, suspended for one year effective immediately following a September 10 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2011) Howard continued to engage in conduct constituting the practice of law, despite having been suspended by a Supreme Court order dated August 28, 2025.  Further, Howard failed to timely comply with all requirements imposed in the suspension order. (Case No. SC2026-0266)

Steven Keith Jonas, 4914 State Road 54, New Port Richey, disciplinary revocation without leave to seek readmission, effective 30 days following a September 3 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2000) Jonas successfully petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for disciplinary revocation while defending a Bar discipline complaint in which he allegedly obtained a residential rental property through deceit committed against an elderly woman and a local church. (Case No. SC2026-1038)

John Mark Laczewski, 43 Tolland Farms Rd., Tolland, CT, disciplinary revocation without leave to reapply effective 30 days following a September 10 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1995) This is a reciprocal case from the State of Connecticut. In the underlying matter, Laczewski failed to comply with audit requirements during the investigation. Laczewski subsequently resigned from the bar in  Connecticut. (Case No. SC2026-1175)

Jackson Santiago Lainez, 717 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Suite 311, Coral Gables, suspended from the practice of law, effective 30 days following a September 24 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2006) Lainez was charged by information on February 26, for two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under Fl. Stat. §800.04(b)(6). Lainez is accused of committing sexual acts in the presence of his two minor sons. The charges are pending before the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. (Case No. SC2026-0437)

Alejandro Rafael Lopez, P.O. Box 680068, Orlando, interim felony suspension effective 30 days following a September 24 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1989) Lopez was charged by Information with 1) Use of a Computer to Seduce/Solicit/Entice a Child to Commit a Sex Act, a third-degree felony; 2) Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device, a third-degree felony; and 3) Harmful Communication to a Minor, a third-degree felony. The charges are currently pending. (Case No. SC2026-0478)

Hubbell Clay Losson, P.O. Box 10353, Tampa, suspended from the practice of law for 60 days, and ordered attendance at Ethics School and payment of the Bar’s costs effective 30 days following a September 24 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2002) In his representation of a client, Losson failed to appear at a court hearing due to a conflict and failed to communicate to the court or client that he would not be available. In the same matter, Losson failed to reduce the non-refundable fee for representation into writing and failed to respond to two official requests for information by the Bar during the Bar’s investigation of these claims. In an unrelated matter, Losson plead no contest to a criminal charge of battery. (Case No. SC2026-1409)

Herbert Jeffrey Marcus, 2686 SW 28th Ln., Miami, suspended for six months effective 30 days following a September 3 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1973) This is a matter of reciprocal discipline related to Marcus’s May 2, 2023, suspension from The Colorado Bar. The Colorado Bar imposed a public censure and suspended him for one year and a day, with conditions. The discipline was imposed due to Marcus’s negligence in representing a criminal defendant and his own criminal conviction. Marcus plead guilty to harassment, a class three misdemeanor, on September 17, 2018. In that matter, Marcus shoved a child with force and yelled expletives at the child and her mother. In the client representation, Marcus failed to enter into a written fee agreement with the client, failed to inform him of the potential immigration consequences of his criminal charges, and disclosed confidential client information during a public hearing. (Case No. SC2026-0674)

Lyle Barrister Mazin, 200 E. Robinson St., Suite 1140, Orlando, public reprimand and completion of Ethics School and the Professionalism Workshop, effective immediately following a September 10 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2008) Mazin posted a segment of an officer’s probable cause narrative and portions of Body Worn Camera video relating to his client’s criminal cases on social media and invited public comments on whether the officer had committed perjury. In a second matter, Mazin sent an email directed toward the general property manager of his condominium association containing a demand that she leave the property or face removal and arrest by law enforcement. Mazin also failed to make a timely written response to the Bar’s investigative inquiry in the second matter. (Case No. SC2024-1828)

Ashley Ruth Morin, 951 Yamato Rd., Suite 280, Boca Raton, suspended for one year, effective immediately following a September 11 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2021) On June 18, 2025, Morin pled no contest to Unlawful Filing of False Documents Against Real Property and Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information, both third degree felonies. Adjudication was withheld, and she was sentenced to four years of probation. She stipulated that she and her co-defendant acted to defraud the victim by filing a deed that removed him from ownership of real property, using his signature stamp without his knowledge or consent. Morin admitted to performing the physical acts at issue but maintains she was unaware the deed was forged or that fraud was occurring. Before petitioning for reinstatement, Morin must undergo a comprehensive evaluation by a qualified evaluator approved by the Bar, at her sole expense. She must comply with all recommendations, including entering into a rehabilitation contract, completing a minimum period of sobriety of at least 6 months (if applicable), and receive a recommendation in support of the reinstatement from the evaluator. She must also attend ethics school and the professionalism workshop. (Case No. SC2025-1211)

Belinda Noah, 10144 Whisper Pointe Dr., Tampa, disbarred effective 30 days following a September 11 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 1983) Noah made intentional misrepresentations in her answers to eight separate questions on a judicial application to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, in statements to the public, and in campaign financial reports. (Case No. SC2024-1480)

Nina Lynn Oswald, 3254 S. Semoran Blvd., Apt 22, Orlando, disciplinary revocation with leave to seek readmission effective 30 days following a September 17 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2018) Oswald neglected her client’s custody modification case and failed to timely respond to the Bar’s inquiries. (Case No. SC2026-1147)

Osvaldo Perez, 3250 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, suspended effective 30 days following a September 23 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2007) Perez, who during these proceedings was ineligible to practice law due to delinquency in fulfilling Continuing Legal Education requirements, was arrested for Aggravated Battery on a Person 65 Years of Age or Older and Battery on a Person 65 Years of Age or Older on November 3, 2025. On February 23, 2026, he was formally charged with two counts of Battery on a Person 65 Years of Age or Older. (Case No. SC2026-0464)

Thomas L. Robinson, 13230 SW 3rd Ln., Newberry, suspended until further order of the court effective 30 days following a September 23 court order. (Admitted to Practice: 2006) The Florida Bar filed a Petition for Contempt and Order to Show Cause due to Robinson’s failure to respond to Bar inquiries. The court issued an Order to Show Cause giving Robinson until July 15 to respond. Robinson failed to respond to the order. (Case No. SC2026-0992)

The Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar, and its Division of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the more than 115,000 members of The Florida Bar. Key discipline case files that are public record are posted to attorneys’ individual online Florida Bar profiles. To view discipline documents, follow these steps. Information on the discipline system and how to file a complaint are available at www.floridabar.org/attorneydiscipline.

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline. Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam. Attorneys suspended for periods of 91 days and longer must undergo a rigorous process to regain their law licenses including proving rehabilitation. Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment.

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