An attorney who signs a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) acknowledging criminal conduct is not protected from Bar discipline merely because no criminal charges were filed, according to the Florida Supreme Court.

The attorney also failed to report the NPA or his activity that resulted in the NPA to the Bar, the court said, in ordering a two-year suspension.

The case involved an attorney who worked and provided legal advice for a company selling and managing vacation rental units. The company gave misleading and fraudulent information to buyers and to lenders who were financing mortgages for those sales and in effect was operating a Ponzi scheme.