A Washington state attorney has been disbarred, effective Dec. 27, after an investigation revealed that he used his firm’s resources to represent at least 150 “ghost clients” from 2010 to 2019 without the firm’s knowledge, according to the Disciplinary Board of the Washington State Bar Association.

As detailed in a stipulation to disbarment entered into with the state’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Florian Damaso Purganan began working as a law clerk at the law firm of Hanis Irvine Prothero in Kent, Washington, in 2004 and became an associate attorney in 2005 practicing immigration law. He became a partner with the firm in 2015. He has no prior disciplinary record.