Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Florida Lawyer Disbarred For Screwing Clients Out Of Cash In Real Estate Transactions Now Facing Felony Charge

In Clearwater, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

  • A local lawyer who was disbarred last year has been charged with stealing $400,000 from a client weeks after he lost his license to practice law. Richard Joseph Da Fonte, 50, of Clearwater was charged this month with withholding the money from Kenneth Yang of Texas, one of three people Da Fonte represented in a real estate transaction in late October.

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  • The transaction involving [Yang] took place about two weeks after Da Fonte lost his license to practice law. In mid October, the Florida Supreme Court approved a consent agreement in which Da Fonte agreed to be disbarred over his involvement in two [other] real estate transactions where money went missing.

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  • And there is another case where a former client says he has been unable to get money that he gave Da Fonte to hold in trust for him. Shakawat Hossain, 46, of St. Petersburg said he had planned to use money he got from the sale of his business, a store he built up by working 18-hour days, to buy a gas station and convenience store. But Hossain said that plan has fallen apart because he can't get more than $250,000 from Da Fonte. That's about half the sum he said he gave the lawyer to hold in trust.

For more, including the details on the screwing over Da Fonte gave to his trusting clients, see Lawyer faces theft charge (The man was disbarred last year. Now he's accused of stealing $400,000 from a client).

For the earlier St. Pete Times story on Da Fonte's disbarment, see Lawyer disbarred, two others are disciplined (Diverted mortgage funds led to the disbarment).

See Theft Of Escrow Funds I and Theft Of Escrow Funds II for other stories of trust account / escrow account theft of funds.

If a Florida attorney is representing you and screws you out of money or property through dishonest conduct, go to The Florida Bar's Clients' Security Fund for more information. For other states, see:

posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 8:02 AM