Real estate lawyers in trouble with the law continue to grow in numbers.
Attorneys at Hankin, Hanig, Stall, Caplicki, Redl and Curtin may be feeling a little overworked these days.
Four of the partners in the New York firm have pleaded guilty as part of a federal investigation of mortgage and real estate fraud.
The pleas are the latest in a recent glut of lawyers facing charges involving allegations of mortgage fraud.
In Los Angeles a well-known civil rights lawyer whose high profile lawsuits have targeted law enforcement and even President Bush has been indicted on charges of bankruptcy and tax fraud that include allegations of failing to disclose mortgage payments and property tax deductions on his bankruptcy filing.
And in Lexington, Ky., the owner of a title company — who is also a lawyer — and his secretary have been charged with pilfering money from clients’ accounts.
But few firms have been rocked as much as the one that employed Frank Redl, the latest of four partners in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., firm to admit to breaking the law in the fraud scheme.
Redl was charged in a 40-count indictment in January. Federal court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York confirm that he has pleaded guilty to forgery and tax evasion charges.
According to a statement from the federal prosecutor’s office Redl, 50, was charged with stealing more than $150,000 from the firm’s trust account by forging checks and then depositing the cash into his own accounts.
Redl was also charged with making false statements on mortgage loan applications and filing false federal tax returns for five years. He faces more than three years in prison.
In January three other partners pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
Jerard S. Hankin, 61, admitted that for eight years he bribed employees of Fleet Mortgage and CTX Mortgage Co. so they would send real estate closing work to the firm and to a title company he owned. He also filed false tax returns by not reporting the illegal payments, prosecutors said.
As part of Hankin’s scheme, Janet Skinner, 52, an executive vice president at CTX Mortgage, also pleaded guilty to charges that she took nearly $400,000 in bribes from Hankin.
Two other lawyers at the firm — Todd Stall and Daniel Curtin — pleaded guilty to charges of accepting real estate settlement fees as part of Hankin’s scheme. The payments violated federal mortgage lending laws, prosecutors said.
In Los Angeles lawyer Stephen Yagman was known for taking high profile civil rights cases.
In a press release touting his appearance in a public affairs video on the legal system, Yagman describes himself as “the notorious criminal defense lawyer attorney who uses the ‘f’ word to describe a fellow civil rights attorney and other vivid, colorful, profane language while taking on the entire justice system.”
Yagman filed a lawsuit against President Bush and other federal officials on behalf of a detainee at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where suspected terrorists are being held. And he has filed dozens of lawsuits against Los Angeles law enforcement officials.
But now he is going to need a lawyer of his own.
According to federal prosecutors in Los Angeles Yagman has been indicted on charges of trying to evade paying more than $100,000 in federal income taxes by concealing assets. He is also accused of bankruptcy fraud, according to the statement form the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors say that Yagman filed bankruptcy in 1999 but broke federal law by failing to disclose that he lived in a 2,800-square-foot house near the beach in Venice, Ca. In addition, he allegedly made mortgage and property tax payments while claiming the homeowner’s mortgage-interest deduction on his tax returns, which are also criminal acts.
Yagman is also accused of hiding nearly $800,000 in assets by putting cash in the names of relatives.
Yagman could not be reached to comment.
“Mr. Yagman’s pattern of deception and illegal conduct, as alleged in his indictment, discredits those who practice law,” Kenneth J. Hines, special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigation in Los Angeles, said in a statement.
“The public expects attorneys to be honest, to be trustworthy and to show respect to the law,” Hines said.
A lawyer in Lexington, Ky., is also accused of not showing much respect for the law.
Kim A. Clay, a lawyer and the owner of Universal Title Services, has been charged with taking money out of the company that was supposed to be used to in home sales and refinances, Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Larson told MortgageDaily.com.
Also charged was Clay’s secretary, Mildred Dunn. Neither could be reached to comment.
Larson said the pair was charged with four counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property. The charges were handed down by a grand jury.
Larson said he could not discuss details of the case, including the amount of money allegedly stolen. But he did confirm that Clay and Dunn blame one another and are suing each other in local state court.
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