In Re: Sergio Rádinson Caraballo

Summary

Acting on a Special Commissioner's report, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico concluded that clear, robust and convincing evidence proved that Lcdo. Sergio Rádinson Caraballo violated Canons 18, 20, 23, 35 and 38 of the Code of Professional Ethics and breached Articles 2 and 56 of the Notarial Law and Rule 67 of the Notarial Regulations: he dilatorily handled a declaration of heirs and a damages claim, retained a $2,500 advance for roughly nine years, performed acts without authorization after being discharged, and gave false notarial faith that the client signed an affidavit in his presence when a forensic examiner concluded she had not. Weighing the aggravators — chiefly a prior 2020 severe censure for a Canon 18 violation, lucre, and client prejudice — against the mitigators, the court suspended him immediately and indefinitely from the practice of law and the notariate.