Recommendation to Minnesota Supreme Court: Ex-Hennepin head public defender Kassius Benson should be disbarred

Former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Kassius Benson should be disbarred for his criminal and professional misconduct, according to a report filed to the Minnesota Supreme Court last week by retired Justice Christopher Dietzen.

The state high court will make the final determination of discipline for Benson, a prominent Minneapolis lawyer whose fall has been dramatic since he was named the top public defender in the state's most populous county in 2021. Benson resigned that position in 2022.

Dietzen's 19-page recommendation focuses on Benson's criminal conviction for tax evasion in 2023 related to his private defense firm, Kassius Benson Law, and his misappropriation of $12,500 that was paid to him by a client in 2021.

The Supreme Court appointed Dietzen as a referee and he heard arguments in the case in January. Benson represented himself against Timothy Burke, the senior assistant director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, which initially brought the complaint against Benson.

Dietzen, who was an associate justice from 2008-2016, wrote that a lengthy suspension was inadequate. He said Benson "committed very serious, very public misconduct" and that the aggravating factors of that misconduct — Benson's selfish motive, experience practicing law, prior discipline and lack of genuine remorse — "tower over and outweigh" any positives from Benson's contributions to the legal profession.

"I would like to consider his good work as a substantial mitigating factor," Dietzen writes. "But that positive is overshadowed by his substantial ethical failures that occurred over many years and devastated many people."

Benson, 54, did not return a request for comment.

In 2023, Benson pleaded guilty to tax evasion in U.S. District Court after admitting he failed to pay $159,000 in taxes which he withheld from his employees' wages in 2013 and from 2015-2019. He also failed to pay more than $50,000 in employment taxes. He received a downward departure at sentencing, avoided prison, and was given three years of probation and ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service $213,591.81 in restitution.

The report for the state Supreme Court shows that Benson has been following the terms of his probation, paying back $100 per month and looking to increase that amount to $1,000 per month.

Dietzen also received testimony from former clients who hired Benson to represent their son in a criminal trial. The parents paid a $40,000 retainer, then, shortly before the trial was to begin, Benson told them he needed $12,500 more — including $7,500 to pay for expert witnesses.

That money should have been put into a trust and used only for expenditures related to the defense of his client and the hiring of the expert. Instead, Benson put the money in a general business account and spent it within seven days. The case never went to trial because the client pleaded guilty. It would take the parents more than two years to get their money back.

Benson's representation of the client ended after sentencing in April 2022. A year later, the family filed a complaint with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility. Three months later, Benson sent the family half the money. A month later he sent an email saying he was glad they received the first half and the second half was coming within two weeks.

"I will notify you immediately if anything changes," Benson wrote. "This is a definite priority."

Nearly two months later, the clients emailed Benson saying they trusted him when he said it was a priority and asking to be contacted as soon as possible to find out when their money would arrive.

Benson didn't respond for seven months.

It would take two more months for him to fully pay the clients back the $12,500 plus $1,342 in interest.

Dietzen wrote how much of a financial hardship this created for Benson's clients. They had taken out a second mortgage on their home to pay for his retainer. In order to come up with the additional $12,500, the family had to take out a loan.

He noted that the mother in the family "thought she could trust [Benson] to fight for her son. Instead, she was left disappointed and in disbelief at how something like this could happen. The entire ordeal left [her] heartbroken."

Benson's actions with the IRS and his clients clearly violate the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct, Dietzen argues, and provide reason alone for disbarment.

They "were not a single, isolated incident or a brief lapse in judgment," Dietzen writes, adding that the misappropriation of client funds took place for nearly three years and the tax evasion for six years. "The cumulative nature of [Benson's] misconduct warrants severe discipline."

Dietzen said Benson's actions caused clear harm to his clients, employees and the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office, where he was serving as chief when the felony tax investigation first came to light. The fact that these actions occurred after Benson had been practicing law for more than 20 years, is something that can't be overlooked, Dietzen wrote.

He also takes issue with what he views as a lack of genuine remorse from Benson.

"He did not express remorse for the full extent of his misconduct, did not acknowledge that his misappropriation and felony tax crimes were wrong, and never expressed a desire to make things right," Dietzen writes. "More troubling is that [Benson] delayed the repayment of the misappropriated monies for more than two years without any explanation or excuse."

Dietzen's final recommendations were that Benson be disbarred, comply with all legal rules associated with disbarment, pay any costs associated with the hearing and be immediately suspended.

Benson graduated from the University of Minnesota law school in 1996 and worked as a public defender in Minnesota and Washington, D.C., before opening his Minneapolis firm. He took office as chief public defender on Jan. 1, 2021. He received a $145,288 salary and oversaw 200 employees. In that public role, Benson faced questions about whether he was improperly continuing to take private clients. He said he wasn't.

His resignation in October 2022 came just two days after Wayzata police cited him for drunken driving. Benson later pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor.

Throughout his criminal trial and professional investigation, Benson has been surrounded by supporters. At his sentencing for tax evasion, Benson told U.S. District Judge John Tunheim he had come to grips with his actions.

"It has registered, the damages that I've done; tarnishing what I built," he said. "My biggest regret is the effect this has had on my family and friends."