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Local lawyer defends himself

Steven Azhar might be 16 years old but in the eyes of the law he’ll never be able to take care of himself.

That’s because when he was a child, surgery on his young body went dreadfully wrong.

“He was completely normal until he was 2 and 1/2 years old,” said Mark Azhar, the disabled boy’s father. “Now, he’s 50 percent brain damaged. He became paralyzed and physically disabled.”

He said medical malpractice and negligence caused Steven to acquire metabolic genetic disorder. A lawsuit soon after the surgery set up an estate for the young Azhar.

In 1991, Lamonte Hansen, Williams attorney since 1979, was assigned as conservator for the estate of the protected minor. Charges of breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation/fraud and conversion have recently been brought against Hansen because the parents of Azhar believe Hansen diverted more than $44,000 from the boy’s estate.

Hansen said the charges against him are untrue and defended himself in Coconino County Superior Court Thursday and Friday in front of visiting judge Gary Donohoe from Maricopa County.

“I had to go to court,” he said in an interview Monday. “The judge has not made a decision.

“I defended against the charges and denied them.”

Hansen, who served as the City of Williams attorney in the past, denied any wrongdoing and said he earned the money working as the conservator.

“Anything I’ve done is in the best interest of the minor and of the mother,” Hansen said in court. “All I can tell the court is we did the best we can do.”

The suit also charges Ann Hansen, Lamonte’s wife, Mary Ann Kinzel, real estate agent, and Century 21 Associates Unlimited, owned by John and Joann Williams, with being involved.

Young Azhar’s estate had a living expense account, which Hansen controlled, and a protected money market account that required a court order to touch. Rosemary Simo and Mark Azhar, Stephen’s parents, accuse Hanson of drawing money from the protected account without their consent.

According to court records, on or about Aug. 19, 1999 Hansen, as conservator for Azhar, asked the court for a $180,125 withdrawal from the protected account to purchase a home and lot for the Azhar family in Lake Havasu City.

“The proposal did not include any commission fees to the conservator or any third party, nor were the plaintiffs or the court informed of any costs for any commission of any type to either the conservator or any third parties, with the exception of the commission paid to the real estate agent(s) for the purchase of the lot in the total amount of $2,050, which was included in the price of the lot,” the civil complaint states.

The court approved the withdrawal and the house was built. All was well until the clinics treating Steven closed, and the family decided to move to Tucson to be close to medical care. It was when Simo put the house up for sale that the problems arose.

“We thought the house was valued at $190,000,” said Mark Azhar. “The real estate agent said, ‘No house (where the house is located) is worth that kind of money. It’s worth $140,000.’”

“We just wanted to sell the house for what we spent.”

At first, Simo confronted the builder, Ross Reinoso, of Rosco Construction in Kingman, thinking the company had ripped the family off with exaggerated building costs.

“We contacted the contractor and he said he didn’t do anything wrong,” Mark Azhar said. “He said he was ordered by the real estate agent and Lamonte Hansen to keep quite. Every time he received a check Lamonte Hansen got $20,000 commission. He paid her (Kinzel) $9,000 commission just for coordinating the scam.”

The court documents state, “The contractor informed the plaintiffs that he had actually received checks from Lamonte Hansen totaling $160,743, of which $132,163 was for the actual materials and labor on the home construction. He then informed the plaintiffs that he had written checks in the total amount of $28,580 back to both defendants Hansen and Kinzel as their commission or legal fees.”

Stephen’s parents are angered by the corruption.

“Once we contacted the contractor, we were shocked,” he said. “We never thought. In 1991, Lamonte Hansen was a priest and the bishop of the Mormon Church in Williams. We thought since he’s a preacher and a lawyer, he’ll be an honest person.”

Conservators must account for all the money spent from a client’s account. Hansen failed to do so in 1999 and 2000. He said bad secretaries and health issues hampered his ability to keep accurate records.

At the end of the two-day hearing, Consuelo Brennan, Simo’s attorney, asked the judge to award Steven’s estate the money, plus interest and attorney fees and punitive damages.

“He depleted my boy’s trust so much he doesn’t have any more money left,” said Mark Azhar.

The youth’s parents have also filed complaints with the Arizona Bar Association and the state’s attorney general. Williams Police Department is also involved in the case.

“We originally investigated this,” said Frank Manson, WPD chief. “We started a fraud report on April 14, 2001. We have gathered a number of back receipts, and we’re working this in conjunction with the attorney general’s office.

“Right now, he’s in a civil court. He can still be tried in a criminal court for the allegations of fraud.”

Another civil suit against Hansen was recently decided in superior court concerning $25,000 in checks and the National Bank of Arizona.

According to superior court documents, Hansen deposited $25,000 in checks into his National Bank account on Dec. 1, 2000 and then soon after withdrew $25,000.

“The deposits referenced above were not valid checks and were dishonored and uncollected by plaintiff,” the original complaint filed with superior court April 11, 2001 states.

In an answer dated May 9, 2001, Hanson denied all the charges against him and asked for the citation to be dismissed.

Judge Gerald McCafferty granted two arbitration awards totaling $30,838 to the National Bank — on Jan. 3 and Jan. 15 for incidents involving the invalid checks and Hansen.

Azhar said his son’s case should be decided in the next two week.


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