California State Bar Task Force Hammers Five More Attorneys In Continuing Probe Into Alleged Loan Modification Misconduct

In San Francisco, California, The National Law Journal reports:

• The State Bar of California's crackdown on attorneys for alleged loan modification misconduct has claimed five more lawyers in Southern California, three of whom have resigned.

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• On Nov. 2, Timothy Thurman of Trinity Law Group in Los Angeles resigned with charges pending after the FBI arrested him in October. He was charged with forging the signature of a federal judge on a fake court order that he gave to his clients so that they could avoid eviction. His law firm, launched earlier this year, provided litigation and loan modification services. [...] On Nov. 4, two other lawyers resigned with unspecified charges pending: Gary Davidson of Costa Mesa, Calif., and Eric Douglas Johnson of Culver City, Calif. Davidson did not return a call for comment, and a phone number to Johnson's law office is no longer in service.

• Also on Nov. 4, Paul Lucas of Lucas Law Center in Aliso Viejo, Calif., was put on involuntary inactive status for allegedly becoming a threat to the public. Among the accusations are that he lied about his firm's refund policy and its relationship with Future Financial Services, which he has described as the marketing arm of his law office.

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• On [Nov. 6], Sean Rutledge of United Law Group in Irvine, Calif., was placed on inactive status for taking money from his clients, not performing services and failing to refund fees in 14 client matters.

For more, see Calif. Bar Crackdown on Loan Modification Misconduct Claims 5 More Attorneys.

See also, The State Bar of California news release: State Bar Loan Modification Task Force Shuts Down Practices Of More Lawyers.