representations to Mayo Clinic regarding the medical records and also misrepresented in a report to the trial court that one of the material factual issues in the case was why Mayo Clinic had failed to maintain critical patient records during the time frame when Schubot’s father suffered his ultimately fatal injuries. Hmielewski also submitted an expert report on behalf of his client that opined that Mayo Clinic had tampered with the medical records, although he knew that the expert’s opinion was based on the expert’s belief that Mayo Clinic had failed to produce the medical records. In a settlement letter to Mayo Clinic demanding $400,000, Hmie-lewski' deliberately misrepresented that Mayo Clinic had lost the medical records. As a result of Hmielewski’s untrue and misleading representations, Mayo Clinic was put to substantial trouble and expense in attempting to locate and ascertain the medical information contained in the purloined medical records.
All of this came to light when Schubot’s deposition was taken in the discovery phase of the Minnesota lawsuit. Hmielewski testified at the disciplinary hearing that he told Schubot that he would be asked about the records during his deposition and that he must truthfully answer the question. Hmie-lewski did not attend the deposition, but told his young associate who did attend in his place that Schubot must not be permitted to lie. At the associate’s urging at the deposition, Schubot admitted that he had the records. Hmielewski was sanctioned by the Minnesota trial court for his fraudulent conduct and he and his client were fined $105,-159. Hmielewski agreed to hold Schubot harmless for the payment of the fine. The matter was then referred to The Florida Bar.
The referee found that Hmielewski deliberately made the misrepresentations set forth above when all along he knew that the records were not lost but had been taken by his client. The referee recommended that Hmielewski be found guilty of violating the following Rules Regulating The Florida Bar: (1) rule 3-4.3, which proscribes conduct that is unlawful or contrary to honesty or justice; (2) rule 4-3.3(a)(l), which prohibits knowingly making false statements of material fact or law to a tribunal; (3) rule 4-3.3(a)(2), which prohibits failing to disclose a material fact to a tribunal when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by the client; (4) rule 4-3.4(a), which prohibits both the unlawful obstruction of another party’s access to evidence and the unlawful altering, destruction or concealment of a document or other material that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is relevant to a pending or reasonably foreseeable proceeding, or counseling or assisting another person to do such an act; (5) rule 4-3.4(d), which prohibits the intentional failure to comply with legally proper discovery requests; (6) rule 4-4.1(a), which mandates that lawyers not make false statements of material fact or law to third persons while representing a client; (7) rule 4-4.4, which prohibits the use of methods of obtaining evidence that violate the rights of third persons; and (8) rule 4-8.4(c), which prohibits conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
The referee recommended that Hmielew-ski be suspended from the practice of law for one year followed by two years of probation, noting that the character and reputation testimony presented on Hmielewski’s behalf was the primary mitigating factor that saved Hmielewski from disbarment.
“A referee’s findings of fact carry a presumption of correctness that should be upheld unless clearly erroneous or without support in the record.”
Florida Bar v. Berman, 659 So.2d 1049, 1050 (Fla.1995). We find support in the record for the referee’s factual findings. These findings establish that Hmielewski improperly allowed what he perceived as his duty to his client to overshadow his duty to the justice system when he made deliberate misrepresentations of material fact to the Mayo Clinic and the Minnesota trial court. Hmielewski’s violations made a mockery of the justice system and flew in the face of Hmielewski’s ethical responsibilities as a member of The Florida Bar.
However, we reject the referee’s disciplinary recommendation that Hmielew-ski be given only a one-year suspension. This Court has broader discretion when re