Trust Account Ripoffs, Unrefunded Unearned Fees Among New Charges Piled On By State Bar Against Attorney Already Facing Mortgage Fraud Allegations

In San Francisco, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:

• Elk Grove lawyer Sean Patrick Gjerde, already facing criminal charges, was accused Monday of 36 counts of misconduct by the State Bar of California.



• Among other things, he was accused of misappropriating $84,000 from a client's trust account and "repeatedly" violating a court order prohibiting him from working on bankruptcy cases without a judge's permission. He also was accused of failing to return unearned fees to clients.



• The Bar said Gjerde, 35, agreed in June to a 60-day suspension in a separate disciplinary case. In that case, he was accused of billing an insurance company for services he never performed.



• With the new accusations, Gjerde could lose his law license, said State Bar spokeswoman Diane Curtis. The new charges aren't related to the criminal matter. In that case, a federal grand jury in June 2010 charged Gjerde and nine others in a $5.5 million mortgage fraud. Prosecutors said the defendants arranged to buy 30 homes from Oakley to Olivehurst using doctored loan applications. All but two of the homes wound up in foreclosure, prosecutors said.



• Gjerde was accused of writing letters on behalf of three homebuyers in which he falsely verified their job status and claimed to have prepared their tax returns. He has pleaded innocent and has been free on bond. Gjerde couldn't be reached for comment.

Source: State Bar accuses lawyer of misconduct.