A former Hubbard attorney who gave up his law practice as he was about to disciplined now faces federal charges.

Federal authorities have issued a bill of information charging Richard James Lacivita with bank fraud and making a false statement on on a loan.

In most cases, prosecutors issue a bill of information instead of an indictment when the defendant intends to plead guilty to the charge or charges.

Lacivita, who now lives in Canfield, resigned from the practice of law in 2012 amid a pending discipline from the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary council.

Investigators say Lacivita also owned and operated Associated Land Title Agency of Hubbard until December 2013 when he surrendered his title agent license.

According to the bill of information, Lacivita improperly used money from real estate transactions that had been placed into an escrow account.

Prosecutors say Lacivita didn't turn the money over to previous lien holders to pay off existing mortgages but allegedly invested some of the money into another business, used some the money to run his title agency and used some of the money for personal use.

Although Lacivita could not legally issue title insurance after 2010 when his underwriting company terminated their relationship with him, the bill of information says by the end of 2013 he closed 350 real estate transactions and received about $231,700 in fees and title insurance premiums for policies that were never issued...