Lewiston Lawyer Misappropriated Client Funds, Bar Official Says After His Death
A Maine couple says a promised $50,000 payout vanished, and a bar official says only about $250,000 remains to help repay clients.
A receivership winding down a closed Lewiston law practice has uncovered concerns that client money cannot be located, WGME reported. Paul Dionne, who owned the Law Offices of Dionne and Couturier, died in 2025, prompting two receivers to step in and close the firm. Once they began managing the wind-down, they identified concerns about funds misappropriated by Dionne, according to Aria Eee, executive director of Maine's Board of Overseers of the Bar.
Among those affected are Vicki and Ron Newell, who hired the firm to help settle the estate of Vicki's sister, Karin Russo, who died of cancer in 2024. The couple said they were told to expect a check for almost $50,000 but have received nothing. "It's gone, it's disappeared from the air," Ron Newell said, according to WGME.
Eee said affected clients should first contact the receivers, Emma and Karen Bilodeau, since the firm still held nearly $250,000 in its operating accounts that could go toward compensation. Clients may also apply to the Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, a state program for people harmed by dishonest lawyers, though a full refund through that fund is unlikely. The Supreme Judicial Court ordered a disbursement in early August 2026, and clients could see reimbursement as soon as September 3, 2026.
This story was first reported by WGME.
