PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Monday it had arrested lawyer Christopher Michael Reynolds of Pinellas Park on multiple charges, including money laundering and grand theft.
According to the PCSO, Reynolds operated a personal injury law firm in Seminole, Florida. The sheriff's office said Reynolds would be hired by clients, settle their cases with insurance providers, and then fail to pay the victim's medical bills or give them their settlement money.
Instead, detectives said Reynolds would take the settlement money from the insurance providers for his own gain.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the office was first notified about Reynolds in October 2022 by one of his alleged victims. The former client said Reynolds stopped communicating with them and never paid their bills or gave them the money.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office found a total of 16 victims with a combined alleged theft amount of $850,000.
The Florida Bar Association suspended Reynolds on December 15, 2022. He was admitted to the bar in 2008 and was suspended after he "abandoned his law practice without notice and without taking steps to protect the interests of his clients." The bar said he also "failed to respond to the Bar's investigative inquiries regarding alleged misappropriation of more than $200,000 from his clients.
The sheriff's office said if you have any information about the case or believe you may have been a victim, call 727-582-6786.
