Complaint Review: Hugh Cotney

This lawyer was hired to represent me on a Criminal charge of Fraud in Duval County (Jacksonville) Florida. Case # 2006-CF-008965-AXXX-MA (Defendant B). Mr. Cotney fraudulently coerced me into entering a plea agreement in which ultimately I would be responsible for over $50,000 in restitution to the State of Florida (for Investigation Costs) on a crime involving 3 Co-Defendants with a total monetary value of only $1300.00.

Mr. Cotney's defense tactics were very passive and Mr. Cotney deliberately took every avenue necessary to minimize his costs and provide minimal defense to incarcerated clients. Mr. Cotney at no time made any attempt to defend a absurd $250,000 bond at the time of my incarceration, and to ensure that there would be no room for further dispute Mr.Cotney collected all of his $5,000 retainer fee up front, and stated in a Bar complaint that he had dedicated 40 hours to my defense. Perhaps he converted my $5,000 retainer to coins and spent 40 hours organizing them in a neat fashion.

Mr. Cotney did not take any defensive action in my case, including but not limited to, reviewing the evidence allegedly in possession by the prosecutor. The prosecution of this case was simply unappropriate use of taxpayer funds and by poor judgment of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO).

Ultimately Mr.Cotney allowed the Court to impose a sentence against me that included 1 year in the county jail, 4 years of probation, and as a special condition of probation I was required to pay the following fees:


$57,000 FDLE Cost Of Investigation
$5,000 Office of Statewide Prosecution (Amy Osteryoung)
$341.00 Court Costs
$1360.00 Victim Restitution

Supposedly the above was designated Joint-and-several among co-defendants, however 6 months after the sentence was set final by the Court I was devastated to learn that 1 of the defendants had made plea agreements for only portion of the total sum ($150 month payment over a period of 3 years), and 2 other defendants were not required to pay any form of restitution or probation fees.

My probation officer advised me that I must pay the remaining balance of approximately $50,000 over the next 4 years to avoid going back to jail. Thats nearly $1,000 a month!

Great Work Hugh Cotney.

Ryan
Orlando, Florida
U.S.A.