FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — For nearly six years, the Florida Bar tracked a mounting pile of grievances against Ft. Myers-based attorney Scott Faden.
Now that trail of paperwork has culminated in a three-year suspension and a court order to pay back tens of thousands of dollars to clients who say his “negligence” left their lives in shambles.
A WINK Investigates review of disciplinary records revealed 17 different complaints against Faden, ranging from a total lack of communication to serious professional misconduct.
"I Had to Fight and Beg"
For many of Faden’s former clients, the legal process didn't just stall—it became a secondary source of trauma. Robin Curley hired Faden in late 2023 to handle a sensitive family estate matter. She says the experience was defined by silence.
"I wrote him a five-thousand-dollar check and had to fight and beg for a response ever since," Curley told Chief WINK Investigates Reporter Chorus Nylander.
Despite Faden promising her the matter was of "utmost urgency," Curley claims a month-long delay in filing a key petition caused her entire case to crumble. She has yet to see a refund.
Curley is far from an isolated case. In January, the Florida Supreme Court approved a Consent Judgment officially suspending Faden for three years. As part of the ruling, Faden is ordered to pay more than $42,000 in restitution to ten different clients.
The Impact of Missing Filings
The investigation uncovered a pattern of missed deadlines that led to real-world consequences, consequences several of his former clients tell WINK Investigates were serious in their lives.
WINK Investigates spoke with one of the clients who filed a bar complaint that requested to remain anonymous. She said Faden’s failures caused her to be held in contempt of court because she said Faden failed to submit required filings, which see said forced her to agree to unfavorable divorce terms.
Chorus Nylander spoke with parents James Pollock and Amanda Mullins, they say they are still dealing with the fallout of botched filings.
"I’ve had my son for two years [and] I still haven’t got any child support," Pollock said.
By the time they were ready to file complaints against Faden he had already faced disciplinary actions from the State Bar.
A Staggering Timeline
One of the most pressing questions remaining is why the disciplinary process took so long. Records show the Florida Bar began tracking complaints as early as 2020. When asked why it took six years to reach a final order, the Bar told WINK Investigates they have no records explaining the delay.
"He got paid handsomely for it and he didn’t come through and he wasn’t honest about it." — said the anonymous client we spoke with.
Faden Responds: "No bad Intent"
Scott Faden, who has practiced law since 2001, sat down with Chief WINK Investigates Reporter Chorus Nylander to share his side of the story. However, he refused to appear on camera, providing only an audio interview.
Faden admitted to making some mistakes and acknowledged he could have handled some of the cases better but dismissed many of the 17 complaints as "frivolous."
He cited health issues and staffing shortages as the primary reasons for his professional decline.
"This isn’t a case where I just took people’s money and didn’t do work," Faden insisted. "I am going to abide by [the Bar's] decision and these people are going to be paid back."
While the Bar notes that attorneys facing health crises should register as "inactive," Faden remained active until his suspension. He maintains that he plans to pay the $42,000 in restitution "substantially sooner" than required. The bar requires the payments to be made within the three-year suspension.
Faden said he's a good lawyer and didn’t receive any formal complaints until 2019. He said he was limited on addressing many specific claims made by clients by the bar due to the privileges between attorneys and clients, he said he doesn't want to further harm his ability to practice law again.
What’s Next?
The Florida Bar will now monitor Faden’s compliance with the suspension, which includes scrubbing his social media and websites to ensure he is not soliciting new business.
WINK Investigates could see all references of his law practice removed from his Ft. Myers office.
Despite the three-year ban and the trail of frustrated clients, Faden says he hasn't ruled out a return to the legal profession in the future. For clients like Robin Curley, that possibility is a bitter pill to swallow.
"He should never be able to do this to anyone again," Curley said. "I think this is fraud."
Faden made it very clear, he disagrees with any assertion there was fraud and that he just took people’s money without providing any services.
