PORTLAND – The Board of Overseers of the Bar has directed its counsel to begin disciplinary action against Rumford lawyer Seth Carey for misconduct.

The board found that misconduct allegations against Carey were proven in three of five complaints. The panel said he inappropriately had unauthorized contact with two people whom he knew or should have known were represented by their own counsel.

Sanctions against Carey could include suspension of his license to practice law.

Carey is leading a citizen-initiated referendum on the November ballot to develop a casino in Oxford County.

He is a 2001 graduate of the University of Vermont law school and was admitted to the Maine bar in 2006.