Attorney Charles Runser of Van Wert, OH; serial thief

The state of Ohio provided Charles Allan Runser with a law license in 1967 after he graduated from Ohio Northern University Law School.

Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court has charged Charlie with the following misconduct.

• Misappropriated (stole) more than $90,000 from Jeanne Koch’s estate
• Failed to properly handle trust and guardianship estate matters
• Civil suit filed in federal court v. Charlie to recoup misappropriated funds
• May have misappropriated (stole) more than $471,000 from the Barbara Mary Shackley Trust
• Repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for making/filing inventory of estate assets
• Failed to file periodic guardian’s reports
• Repeatedly failed to comply with Probate Court orders

In the Jeanne Koch estate matter, Charlie wrote more than $90,000 worth of checks on the estate to either himself or his firm, Runser & Putnam. When questioned by the ethics investigator about the matter, Charlie laughingly claimed “that the $90,000 was for attorney and executor fees for him and his partner Putnam.” However, Charlie neither requested, nor received, permission from the Van Wert County Probate Court to receive attorney or executor fees from the Koch estate.

In the Shackley Trust matter, Charlie wrote fifty (5) unauthorized checks either to himself or Runser & Putnam for $471,350 between March 2, 2011, and September 13, 2013. The estate was worth $803,000 as of March 31, 2011. Mary Ann Jensen, the beneficiary of the trust did not authorize nor was she aware of any of the transactions involving the 50 checks.

All that remains now is to see what if any punishment is meted out to Charlie by the enablers for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Because Attorney Misfits in Ohio are held to a much lower standard of conduct then everyone else, Charlie has not yet been criminally charged with grand theft.

As we speak (ca. November 2014) Charlie practices with Runser & Putnam LLC at 111 East Main Street in Van Wert, Ohio, which is about 100 miles southwest of Toledo.