YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered that imprisoned attorney Robert J. Rohrbaugh II, 51, serve an indefinite suspension of his law license with credit for 18 months already served of his interim suspension.

Officials say it could be several years before Rohrbaugh is eligible to apply for reinstatement of his law license, primarily because a person on federal supervised release cannot apply for reinstatement until that supervised release is over.

Rohrbaugh’s law license suspension is a result of Rohrbaugh being convicted in a federal trial of four felonies for his involvement in a scheme aimed at obtaining fraudulent federal income tax refunds. His suspension remains in effect while he is serving a 52-month federal prison sentence, the Ohio Supreme Court noted.

He also must serve three years of post-release control after he leaves prison and pay $569,939, jointly with his co-defendants, to the IRS by paying 25% of his gross income each month while in prison. He must also pay 10% of his gross monthly income while on supervised release, according to the ruling.

Judge Benita Y. Pearson handed down the sentence in June 2023 after Rohrbaugh was convicted at trial in Youngstown of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, aiding and abetting theft of government property, aiding and abetting false claims against the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Rohrbaugh has a release date of Nov. 18, 2025, according to online U.S. Bureau of Prison records.

He had a law office on Belmont Avenue in Liberty and lived in the Youngstown area at the time he and two other men were indicted in federal court on fraud charges. They were accused of cashing and using a $1.3 million IRS check co-defendant Brandon Mace obtained fraudulently while in federal prison.

“At his disciplinary hearing, Rohrbaugh testified that the majority of the criminal conduct — creating fictitious entities and filing false tax returns — occurred before he joined the conspiracy, and he claimed that all he did was register one of the fictitious businesses in Ohio,” the Supreme Court ruling states.

“Rohrbaugh also testified about the effect his convictions have had on him and his family. With Rohrbaugh out of work, his family had to sell everything they had, including their furniture, clothes and shoes,” it added. “Despite this, Rohrbaugh said he felt ‘pretty good’ in learning that he did not really need everything he used to have and that he could live with far less.”

The ruling adds that “Since being in prison, Rohrbaugh has participated in a residential substance abuse treatment program, been significantly involved in spiritual groups and activities and stayed sober,” it states. “He has also learned new skills in plumbing and hopes those skills will help him secure a commercial plumbing job after his release from prison.”

In a January 2024 complaint, the Mahoning County Bar Association charged Rohrbaugh with five violations of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct related to the criminal case. The Bar Association later dismissed three of the charged violations.

The Supreme Court ruling noted that the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct found that Rohrbaugh violated rules prohibiting a lawyer from “committing an illegal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty or trustworthiness” and prohibits a lawyer from “engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”

The board and Mahoning County Bar Association found that Rohrbaugh “exhibited a dishonest or selfish motive,” but it also found that Rohrbaugh had no prior disciplinary record, he freely and fully disclosed his conduct to the Board of Professional Conduct, that he was cooperative with its investigation, that he had a “good character and reputation” and there had been imposition of “other penalties.” The board also found that Rohrbaugh’s actions were “significantly lesser in degree, scope and motivation” than his co-conspirators.” Rohrbaugh did not appeal his convictions.

Four of the seven Supreme Court justices concurred in giving Rohrbaugh an indefinite suspension with credit for time served. Two other justices would not have awarded Rohrbaugh the 18 months credit for time served. The seventh justice did not participate in the ruling.

The justices compared Rohrbaugh’s conduct to that of other attorneys convicted of various federal financial crimes and found that his punishment is appropriate compared to others.

Among the most comparable were an attorney convicted of money laundering and attempted money laundering for accepting and issuing checks related to drug trafficking and an attorney convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud for participating in a scheme aimed at defrauding investors, the ruling stated.