MN’s Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility announced Wednesday afternoon the Minnesota Supreme Court has disbarred a foreign legal consultant based in Woodbury. Israel Esquivel Villanueva’s alleged misconduct included misappropriation of client funds, unauthorized practice of the law, failure to refund unearned payments, forgery of a client’s signature on a legal document, falsely representing that he was authorized to practice law, and failure to cooperate with an investigation conducted by the director of the state office, according to a court decision filed July 31. Other misconduct by Villanueva involved eight clients over the course of five years. He allegedly took nearly $10,000 in attorney fees from four clients in exchange for no work. In four other instances, he allegedly took more than $20,000 in advance attorney fees and performed little work. He did not return any money to these clients, the decision said.
