Disbarred attorney sentenced on tampering, forgery charges

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WILKES-BARRE — A former attorney from Lackawanna County charged with filing and submitting fake documents on behalf of clients in civil settlement cases was sentenced to a month in prison and five years probation on Friday.

James Joseph Conaboy, 52, of Clarks Summit, was sentenced by Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas to one-month to one-year at the county correctional facility on two counts of tampering with records and five years probation on two counts of forgery.

Conaboy pled guilty to the charges prior to being sentenced.

The state Office of Attorney General charged Conaboy in February with failing to file documents in civil cases and tampering with court documents in several civil cases.

According to court records, when Conaboy was a licensed attorney, he represented Paul Grace who worked for the Wilkes-Barre office of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as a disability adjudicator.

Grace filed a suit through Conaboy in Luzerne County Court in 2013 against the labor and industry department alleging a hostile work environment and unfair disciplinary actions.

Conaboy told Grace the suit settled for $517,000 but Grace never received the money, court records say.

When Grace inquired about the settlement and money, court records say, Conaboy sent him documents from the state’s Office of Inspector General that were forged.

Grace’s lawsuit was dismissed by a Luzerne County judge without a settlement in November 2018, in which, Grace was unaware the suit against his former employer had been dismissed, court records say.

Conaboy will be granted immediate parole upon completion of the minimum sentence of 30 days and was ordered to begin his jail sentence Tuesday.

Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Anne Elo prosecuted.

Attorney William J. Watt III represented Conaboy.

Conaboy was disbarred by the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in April 2023.