Illinois Supreme Court Disbars 3, Suspends 7 in Latest Disciplinary Filing

The Illinois Supreme Court issued attorney disciplinary orders during its May 2026 Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

Disbarred

Hassan Ali Abbas, Chicago, IL

Mr. Abbas, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1991, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in a Massachusetts federal court, sentenced to 87 months in prison, and ordered to pay more than $2,000,000 in restitution.

Fredric Robert Gumbinner, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Gumbinner, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1985, was disbarred. In 2023, he pled guilty to the federal criminal offense of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. In his guilty plea, he admitted to causing a $20,000 payment to be made to a sheriff in Virginia to induce the sheriff to appoint Mr. Gumbinner as an auxiliary deputy sheriff. In 2025, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals disbarred him based on that conviction. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Sari Ellen Karson, Rockville, MD

Ms. Karson, who was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1988, was disbarred. She was twice held in contempt by a circuit court in Montgomery County, Maryland, for violating the terms of an injunction prohibiting her from practicing law or accessing trust funds pending the outcome of criminal charges. Both the Supreme Court of Maryland and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals disbarred her based on that conduct. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred her.

Suspended

Tod Herbert Rottman, Jr., Chicago, IL

Mr. Rottman, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for 30 days, with the suspension stayed in its entirety in favor of a one-year period of conditional probation. He represented a client in claims against her former employer and, while the representation was ongoing, he engaged in a sexual relationship with the client.

Scott Jeffrey Sinton, Chicago, IL

Mr. Sinton, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1989, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation. In 2023, he pled guilty to the misdemeanor criminal offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol, and he was sentenced to 12 months of supervision, ordered to complete counseling and to attend a victim impact panel, and fined and ordered to pay court costs.

Philip Chow, Chicago, IL

Mr. Chow, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1984, was suspended for one year. Over a four-month period in 2024, he intentionally used more than $11,000 he was holding in connection with his client’s sale of a restaurant to pay his law firm’s operating expenses. The suspension is effective June 9, 2026.

Warren A. Zimmerman, Land O' Lakes, FL

Mr. Zimmerman, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1979, was reprimanded and suspended until he is reinstated to the practice of law by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit privately reprimanded him, barred him from accepting further appointments in that court and from serving in future appeals as appellate counsel in any capacity, and directed him to withdraw as counsel from all appeals pending in the court after he exhibited deficient and dilatory conduct in multiple appeals. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline by reprimanding Mr. Zimmerman and suspending him until he is reinstated to the practice of law by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The suspension is effective June 9, 2026.

The Following Orders Were Entered Before the May 2026 Term But Were Not Included in Any Prior Information Release

Nathaniel Arthur Frenkel, Chicago, IL (Order entered on March 27, 2026)

Mr. Frenkel, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2015, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was convicted on charges of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Augustus Sol Invictus, Orlando, FL (Order entered on April 14, 2026)

Mr. Invictus, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2013, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was convicted in Virginia on a felony charge of Burning an Object with the Intent to Intimidate arising from his participation in an August 2017 march on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.

Adam Paul Beckerink, Chicago, IL (Order entered on April 20, 2026)

Mr. Beckerink, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2006, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was charged by superseding indictment with the first-degree murder of his wife by throwing her down a stairwell in the couple’s condominium building and with making false statements to investigators.