Raniere Loses BOP Lawyer for Stealing a Camera; Suspended Lawyer Has Budding Comedy Career

Judge Raner Collins ruled that Stacy Scheff, Keith Raniere’s attorney in his lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), must be removed from his case. 

Based on an Agreement for Discipline by Consent, the Arizona State Bar Association and attorney Scheff agreed to suspend her practice for six months due to her conduct in an adult protective services investigation involving Yvette Scott, another of her clients.

Scheff’s suspension requires her to remove herself from Raniere’s case against the BOP.

Judge Collins noted Scheff sent a letter to him stating that she “will be disqualified from the practice of law” for six months and “will be withdrawing as counsel” from this case. 

Collins also noted Scheff had yet to file the official motion to withdraw, giving her seven days to do so.

As we saw when two of Clare Bronfman’s attorneys withdrew from the civil case in which she is being sued by Sarah Edmondson and a host of other plaintiffs, there is a formal process that an attorney must follow to remove themselves from a case.

But Scheff has never been good at following instructions.

Back in March, after being told to refile a brief excluding certain exhibits because they were not permitted, Scheff refiled the brief — with many of the same exhibits. Judge Collins struck them immediately from the record.

Savior or Silliness?

The conduct for which Scheff agreed to a suspension occurred in 2020 and involved a conservatorship.

Scheff took matters into her own hands to communicate with the opposing party instead of dealing only with his counsel. 

What Happened

From the “Agreement for Discipline by Consent” filing:

A man identified by his first name, “Franklin,” was shot during a robbery, leaving him blind, confined to a wheelchair, and with cognitive issues. 

Scheff’s client, Yvette Scott, was Franklin’s live-in caregiver, and the two were supposedly engaged.

On January 2, 2020, Arizona attorney Ana Perez told Yvette to leave Franklin’s home due to an Adult Protective Services (APS) investigation of Yvette.

Scheff went to high school with Yvette.

Scheff represented Yvette — and Perez represented Franklin.

Perez also managed to get herself appointed as Franklin’s agent through a power of attorney.

To defend her client, Stacy needed APS records, and that required Franklin to execute a written release.

But Perez told Scheff that Franklin was not interested in speaking to her.

Scheff went to his home. Franklin was not there.

She went to Franklin’s mother’s house, but he was not there. 

Stacy asked the Court to appoint Yvette as Franklin’s Temporary Guardian to determine his “whereabouts and well-being.”

The Court did not grant the request.

On August 2, 2020, Scheff went to Franklin’s house with a bag of groceries, hoping to meet him.

The new Home Care Assistance caregiver — the one Perez hired to replace Yvette — Shila Carrig, answered the door.

Scheff told her she had groceries for Franklin. 

The healthcare aide did not know Stacy and told her no one sees Franklin without his lawyer’s approval and that the well-guarded Franklin was not allowed to decide who he could see or not see.

Carrig told Scheff to call Perez to schedule an appointment. 

Scheff said, “I know that if I call the lawyer, she is not going to let me see him because I am Yvette’s attorney.” 

Carrig went inside to write down Perez’s contact information and returned to give it to Scheff.

When she returned and opened the door, Scheff yelled into the house, “Franklin, it’s Stacy. I hope you are OK. I just want you to know I am here.” 

On May 5, 2020, Franklin contacted the Pima County Sheriff’s Office to report that there was a videotape of a woman (later identified as Scheff) tearing down his No Trespassing sign to walk her dog in an adjacent wash. 

After the No Trespassing sign was replaced later that same day, the surveillance camera again videotaped Scheff tearing down the second sign. 

Franklin’s handlers purchased the signs on April 19, 2020 for $28.64. 

When Scheff saw Franklin’s security camera, she stole it and fled the scene in her car. 

Perez provided multiple videos of Scheff using Franklin’s trash can when walking her dog nearby. 

On May 8, 2020, Scheff returned to the area, and someone at Franklin’s home confronted her about stealing the camera and called the police.

Scheff returned the stolen camera. 

Police charged Scheff with one count of Theft – Control Property, a class one misdemeanor.

The State resolved the case by requiring Scheff to complete 15 sessions of counseling. 

In her written response to the State Bar, Scheff admitted to walking her dog and taking the camera.

In addition to her six months suspension as an attorney, Scheff must take a course called “The Ethics of Transactions with Non-Clients In-Depth.”

This bizarre activity occurred in 2020, she resolved it in 2021, and Scheff started her probation in 2023.

It is unclear if she disclosed this to Raniere when she undertook to represent him and get a check from Clare Bronfman in 2022.

Perhaps Raniere will continue pro se in his lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) since he is the brains behind all his unsuccessful litigation. 

Or perhaps he’ll allow Clare Bronfman the privilege of paying another equally competent attorney.

If Scheff does not return to legal work, it won’t matter to anyone but Raniere.

It turns out she is a comic genius — and her second career is as an intentional comedian.

Here are some of her jokes.

Okay, let’s try this again. TikTok didn’t like the words that I used. So, I’ve decided to give up on dating and commit myself exclusively to my phallic-shaped sex toy. Think about it. He’s the perfect man. He’ll never lie, cheat or steal. There’s just one problem. I can’t really take him out to dinner. I tried. They refuse to serve us. I think it’s because he’s black.

Hello, darlings, I’m on medication for my anxiety. One of them’s called Lorazepam, it’s a benzodiazepine. For those of you that don’t know, it’s basically a roofie. Every now and then I have to roofie myself. When I’m not looking, I slip one in my drink and have my way with myself. All my wildest fantasies come true, like sleeping for 12 hours straight.

Actually, I’ve decided to give up on sex because of menopause and vaginal dryness. My pussy is so dry. How dry is it? It’s so dry. I had sex with a Jew, and he got lost for 40 years. He wandered for 40 years and he still couldn’t find the G spot. My pussy is so dry, hipsters mine it for humor.

Janine Morrison