Former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Kassius Benson has been disbarred following his 2023 criminal conviction for tax evasion and his misappropriation of $12,500 paid to him by a client in 2021 when he was in private practice. The Minnesota Supreme Court made the final determination Wednesday to disbar Benson, who was named the top public defender in the state's most populous county in 2021. Dietzen noted that Benson's clients had to take out a second mortgage on their home to pay for his retainer. In that public role, Benson faced questions about whether he was improperly continuing to take private clients. Benson later pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor.