RI Supreme Court Suspends Molina Flynn From Practicing Law, Federal Investigation Ongoing

RI Supreme Court Suspends Molina Flynn From Practicing Law, Federal Investigation Ongoing

In January of 2025, GoLocal broke the story of the raid on prominent attorney Joseph Molina Flynn's office by the FBI:

GoLocal observed FBI agents on-site at one of downtown Providence’s office buildings on Thursday morning. 

Federal agents had locked off both the elevator and the stairs to the top floor of the building — the penthouse.

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GoLocal has learned through multiple sources that the FBI search is focused on the office of attorney Joseph Molina Flynn, a prominent attorney and a municipal court judge in Central Falls. He is also an adjunct professor at Roger Williams Law School.

 

Fast forward, on Tuesday, the Rhode Island  Court’s Chief Disciplinary Counsel filed an Emergency Petition for Immediate Interim Suspension and for the Appointment of Disciplinary Counsel as Special Master. The petition was granted by the court.

 

All of this is happening while a Federal Investigation is ongoing.

 

According to the order of the court.

- The Respondent, Joseph Molina Flynn, Esq., is currently an active attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Rhode Island.

- For the majority of time relevant hereto, the Respondent-Attorney operated his law practice as a solo practitioner and his legal services primarily concentrated on immigration law, with a small percentage dedicated to criminal and family law matters.

- On or about May 12, 2025, Chief Disciplinary Counsel filed a Petition for Discipline against the Respondent-Attorney involving twelve (12) former clients alleging, inter alia, that the Respondent-Attorney took legal fees from clients, performed little or no services, neglected client files, misappropriated client funds, co-mingled client funds, was uncooperative with the reasonable requests of Disciplinary Counsel during the investigation into the disciplinary complaints, and made misrepresentations to Disciplinary Counsel.

- The Respondent-Attorney is currently under a multi-agency federal criminal investigation involving financial crimes including the Providence Police Department, Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).

- Additionally, the Respondent-Attorney has outstanding federal tax liens filed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts from the tax years ending in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Upon information and belief, the Respondent-Attorney has not filed state or federal income taxes since 2011.

- On or about January 23, 2025, members of the Providence Police, along with federal agents with Homeland Security, the IRS, and the FBI executed a search warrant of the Respondent-Attorney’s law office.

-  The Respondent-Attorney has not complied with Disciplinary Counsel’s request for assurances that the Respondent-Attorney is safeguarding advance client fees in a trust account, that the Respondent-Attorney designate someone to oversee his IOLTA management, and that the Respondent-Attorney establish a transition plan for when his federal criminal case is concluded.

- A review of the Respondent-Attorney’s BankRI recent bank records demonstrates that he is co-mingling client funds with his business checking account.

- As of the date of this Petition, the Respondent-Attorney knows he is under criminal investigation.

In furtherance of protecting the public and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession, it is ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the Respondent-Attorney, Joseph Molina Flynn, Esq., is hereby suspended from the practice of law in this state on a temporary basis, effective immediately and until further order of this Court.