The Florida Bar has asked the state's high court to immediately suspend Lake Worth litigation attorney Jonathan Isaac Jacobson, alleging he misappropriated client money and caused what the Bar calls great public harm. The petition, filed under Rule 3-5.2 on October 13, lays out a string of trust-account transactions the Bar says left one client's settlement funds nearly wiped out and another client's retainer wired away the same day it was deposited.
A Settlement That Allegedly Never Made It to the Client
According to ALABnews, the case centers partly on client Stephen Okros, who in May 2023 agreed to hold $29,750 in trust during a Palm Beach County civil case while the two sides disputed ownership of the money. A wire carrying that exact amount landed in Jacobson's trust account on May 12, 2023, per the petition. Months later, on August 8, 2023, Okros directed Jacobson to release the funds to the plaintiff as part of a full settlement — but the petition alleges Jacobson refused.
The Bar's petition contends the money didn't sit untouched. Instead, it says the funds were spent down through transfers to the firm's operating account, rent payments, and disbursements made to other clients, according to the same filing cited by the outlet's report. The Bar alleges Jacobson ultimately misappropriated at least $29,747.49 belonging to Okros.
Auditor Points to a Retainer Drained Same-Day
A second client, Derek Axelrod, hired Jacobson in September 2025. The petition states that on January 13, 2026, a $7,000 wire was deposited into Jacobson's trust account on Axelrod's behalf — money meant to stay in trust until it was earned or used for case costs under their fee agreement. The Bar alleges that same $7,000 went out by Zelle the very day it arrived.
Frustrated with a lack of progress, Axelrod hired a new attorney in March 2026 and asked for a refund of the $8,424.40 he had already paid, the petition says. Jacobson told the Bar in April 2026 that he would wire back the full refund amount. The audit affidavit, prepared by the Bar's lead senior auditor, Carl Totaro, and covering the trust account from May 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026, shows the account held just $29.24 as of April 16, 2026 — days before that promised repayment.
Bar Auditor Describes a Ponzi-Like Pattern
Records cited in the petition show the account then received unrelated deposits totaling $11,204.82 across April 20 and April 21, 2026, before $8,424.40 was sent out to Axelrod's new firm on April 22, 2026. The Bar likened the sequence to a Ponzi scheme, suggesting new client deposits were used to cover an old obligation rather than funds belonging to Axelrod himself. The petition also alleges Jacobson did little substantive work on Axelrod's case and failed to respond to requests for updates.
Beyond the money trail, the Bar alleges Jacobson did not comply with a subpoena for trust-account records issued July 21, 2026. Florida's trust-accounting rules state that failing to timely produce such records when subpoenaed is treated as contempt, according to the Rules Regulating Trust Accounts. Those same rules require lawyers to keep client and third-party funds segregated from their own money, and mandate that disputed funds remain untouched until a dispute is resolved while undisputed portions get paid out promptly.
What the Bar Is Asking the Court to Do
The petition cites alleged violations of bar rules covering competence, diligence, communication, fees, dishonesty, trust accounts, and subpoena compliance. The Bar is asking the Florida Supreme Court to suspend Jacobson, block him from taking new clients or filing litigation, halt further trust-account withdrawals, and require him to wind down his practice within 30 days. It has also requested the appointment of a referee to oversee further proceedings. The case carries three docket numbers: 2027-50,170(15e)FES, 2026-50,911(15e), and 2026-50,733(15e), and the petition was authorized by the Florida Bar's executive director.
Jacobson, Florida Bar number 37088, attended Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad Law Center, graduating in 2006, and obtained his Florida law license in 2007. He practices as a litigation attorney in Lake Worth, Florida, per Avvo.com, and his listed firm is the Law Offices of Jonathan I. Jacobson PLLC. The Florida Bar's own member profile notes that any discipline will not become final until the Florida Supreme Court issues an order.
Part of a Wider Wave of Trust-Account Cases
Jacobson's case lands amid a steady stream of Florida trust-account discipline this year. In orders issued between September 24 and October 28, the Florida Supreme Court disciplined 16 attorneys statewide, including three disbarments, one disciplinary revocation, 11 suspensions and one public reprimand, according to CBS12. Among those, Winter Park attorney Casey Reed Eldemire received an emergency suspension over alleged misappropriation of client trust funds and trust-account violations, while Lauderhill attorney Kenneth Saint George Mair was emergency-suspended after the Bar alleged he misappropriated roughly $92,000 in client funds and failed to fully provide subpoenaed trust-account records. A separate attorney, Daniel Foster Dickenson, was suspended for 18 months and ordered into the Bar's Ethics School after disbursing escrow funds to his client without the other party's agreement, per the same report.
