Cory Ferraez is no longer allowed to practice law in Mississippi following an order handed down by the Supreme Court Complaint Tribunal granting the Mississippi Bar’s request to suspend his license.
In a formal complaint filed Aug. 16, the bar alleged Ferraez, a Hattiesburg lawyer with ties to Lowndes County, mishandled client funds on two occasions. The case was argued before the tribunal during a Sept. 16 hearing, but neither Farraez nor a representative for him was present.
The first instance involved the 2022 wrongful death settlement of Stephen Ray “Fuzzy” Weatherford.
As the attorney on the case, Ferraez was entrusted to hold $450,000 in settlement funds that he failed to deliver to Sylvia Weatherford, the beneficiary of the settlement. After several missed court dates between 2024 and this year, Ferraez voluntarily appeared for a hearing July 14, at which he still refused to turn over a remaining $48,033.77 to the Perry County Clerk’s Office. Ferraez was arrested and placed in Perry County Jail.
After only 10 days in custody, Ferraez was released by 10th District Chancery Court Judge Sheila Smallwood and was placed on house arrest for 30 days, contingent upon tendering the remaining balance to the clerk’s office.
By the Aug. 24 deadline, Ferraez had only tendered two payments totaling $2,000 to the clerk’s office.
During the hearing, the bar provided the house arrest order and two transcripts from Farraez’s hearings in Perry County Chancery Court, in which Weatherford testified to being issued a bounced check by Ferraez.
The second instance involved $39,163.56 in settlement funds, which Ferraez received in full in November but allegedly refused to turn over to his client. In support, the bar provided a copy of a settlement disbursement sheet and two Farm Bureau checks.
The bar also alleged Ferraez “failed and/or refused” to provide any information to the bar during its investigation into the complaints and did not respond in any way to the motion.
“Further, Mr. Ferraez delayed the release of his trust account information that was subpoenaed by the bar, by informing his two banks that he planned to file motions to squash the subpoenas,” the decision reads. “No motions were filed, and the records were not available at the time of the hearing.”
However, the bar presented trust account records and highlighted “concerns and abnormalities therein” to the tribunal.
The tribunal unanimously granted the suspension, barring Ferraez from practicing law or rendering legal advice in Mississippi. The tribunal did not specify whether the suspension was indefinite or temporary.
“The bar sufficiently established that Mr. Ferraez’s conduct, as outlined in the formal complaint, (demonstrates) a pattern of misconduct, such that Mr. Ferraez poses a threat of serious harm to the public,” the decision said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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