Following a degrading common occurrence that he attributed to his addiction, being in substance abuse rehab? Suspended , Miami , individual damage lawyer , Hector Acosta Carrillo , has been here before.
But today, Acosta’s legislation career, marriage and relationship with his newborn son are at play.
” I was great when he was born”, Acosta, 33, said in an interview.
Many have questionable futures after, according to Acosta, who used money from the Acosta Legal Trust accounts to conceal the financial repercussions of his return to a dependency on pain medication from his partner.
Acosta, who spoke via FaceTime from a rehab center earlier this month, said he’s open about how he cheated on clients because he hopes it will help someone who reads my narrative get help before things get poor.
How poor? ” I destroyed myself economically. I was a businessman, then I’m broke”.
Acosta is also on incident expulsion from the , Florida Bar , until the specialist skill event finishes. He anticipates that completion will be a laws license suspension that will be reflected in decades.
Miami- Dade County Civil Court Judge , Maria D. Ortiz , has been appointed as the umpire who did speak Acosta’s situation and suggest a punishment to the state Supreme Court.
This day, Acosta said, he started his issues with dachshund Vicodin. Actually, it started with ball.
From Kansas to Miami Gardens to restraints, from Kansas to Florida.
Acosta, the son of a defense gentleman, was born in , Framingham, Massachusetts, and became an All- Express football player at , Junction City High , in , Kansas.  , Cleveland , drafted Acosta in the 50th round of the 2008 Major , League Baseball Draft, but Acosta decided to go to , Coffeyville Community College , in , Kansas, where he became an Honorable Mention rookie school All- America choice.
Acosta went up into the draft and , St. Louis , took him in 2010. However, care for a elbow injury introduced him to Vicodin.
” I immediately used it in an addictive way”, Acosta said. ” I actually liked the feeling”.
From , Arkansas- Little Rock, where he was using pills 15 to 20 times out of the quarter,  , Acosta transferred to , St. Thomas University , and” It was  , Florida , in 2011 — supplements were everyday”.
Acosta’s habit helped end his expert sports hope, and stayed with him into his 2013 membership at , St. Thomas Law School, where” I was selling medications to help my behavior. The withdrawals, when you do n’t have pills, are like a heroin addiction. You feel like s —”.
Acosta hit base at the 2015 , Ultra Music Festival , in , Miami. An arrest on charges of selling a controlled substance, unlawful drug trafficking, misdemeanor battery and intruding after a warning , earned Acosta disgrace in nearby media , and on some nearby legitimate blogs that commented on the law school student’s future.
Acosta began working in a six-week rehabilitation program to get his criminal charges dropped. He says he came out sober, got reinstated to law school in 2017, graduated in 2018 and passed the , Florida Bar , in 2019.
Then, came 2020.
Pilling and moving money
Acosta and , Benjamin Geffon , officially opened , Acosta Geffon , law firm on , Sept. 1, 2020. But by the next month, Acosta said, he’d been reacquainted with pills after a veterinarian prescribed Vicodin pills for Acosta’s mastiff. Acosta took some.
” I had normal stress like everyone else”, Acosta said. My life was improving. I had a lot of money”.
And, that, he believes was a big difference between his previous run of addiction — Acosta had money to buy Vicodin, then oxycodone in increasing strengths. Prior to his current rehab, he claims, he had the funds to pay the cash for nine more.
” It was a little bit of ego because of the money”, Acosta said. ” Like,’ I can do this on my own.’ The money was a big enabler. I was spending about a$ 1, 000 a day on opiates”.
In , April 2022, while still an , Acosta Geffon , name partner, he , registered personal injury firm Acosta Legal with the state. Later in 2022, Acosta said, he’d go from oxycodone to fentanyl. A check from Acosta Legal’s trust account bounced on , April 20, 2023, triggering a , Florida Bar , auditor investigation of the trust account.
Bar auditor , Matthew Herdecker , found 15 unexplained trust account withdrawals for$ 4, 980 from February through April, as well as a$ 5, 115 transfer from the trust account to Acosta’s personal , Chase Bank , checking account.
At one point, Herdecker said, a client and two medical providers were owed$ 10, 097 from the trust account. The 57-dollar account balance was reported.
Attorney trust accounts are never short, despite Acosta eventually paying the client and two medical professionals. Being short$ 10, 040 equals$ 10, 040 in misappropriated funds, even if everyone eventually got their money.
” The withdrawals, that was me trying to hide my usage from my wife”, Acosta said. ” They caught me right away. You cannot take from the trust account”.
Acosta is at a 90- day rehab facility in , South Florida. He’ll be out in March. Beyond that, nothing is assured.
” I’ve done this before”, he said. ” I know it’s possible if I stay sober.
” This has destroyed my reputation, destroyed me financially. I want to say to people,’ If this happens to you, get help. Do n’t do what I did. Take it seriously.’ “
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