Mortgage Lawyers Not Always a Help

Real estate attorneys are the people that you should be able to turn to when you have questions or problems in the mortgage world, but five lawyers have been slapped with various charges that have scammed clients, churches and lenders alike. One case involved a former mayor and prominent Connecticut attorney who stole more than $600,000 from his clients. The funds were used to cover gambling losses, not pay off mortgages as the clients believed. A separate case involved another Connecticut lawyer who stole over $2 million of his client’s funds.

Other cases that used funds include a disbarred Florida lawyer and an attorney who embezzled funds to pay for his Canadian vacation home and boarding his breeding horses. Even worse, a lawyer from Illinois has been charged with stealing church funds that were to be used for mortgages in a phony land deal. The new rise of crooked attorneys is a cause for concern, but catching them is a result of a closer watch on the mortgage industry.