Former top public defender in Minneapolis disbarred after felony tax conviction
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday disbarred Kassius Orlando Benson, the former chief public defender for Hennepin County, Minneapolis, after his conviction for tax evasion and misappropriating client funds. (Image from LinkedIn)
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday disbarred the former chief public defender for Hennepin County, Minneapolis, following his conviction for tax evasion and misappropriating client funds.
The state supreme court called his actions “the most serious types of attorney misconduct,” according to coverage by Law360.
The justices said disbarment was “the appropriate discipline” for Kassius Orlando Benson, who has admitted that he failed to pay more than $213,000 in employee withholdings before becoming the chief public defender.
Benson, formerly a criminal defense attorney, admitted in 2023 to failing to pay taxes, and he was sentenced to three years of probation in 2024. He was also ordered to pay nearly $214,000 in restitution to the IRS, according to Law360.
The justices said Benson’s misconduct “paints a troubling picture of an attorney who repeatedly placed his own financial wants and needs over his legal obligations and fiduciary duties.”
Benson, who resigned from the public defender position in 2022, currently has a trial and jury consulting business.
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