State Bar Shuts Down Attorney Who Allegedly Rented Law License To Convicted Felon To Run Bankruptcy-Related Foreclosure Rescue Ripoff

The State Bar of California recently announced:

• The State Bar of California announced [] it has shut down the operations of an Ontario lawyer who allowed his name and law license to be used in a scheme to defraud distressed homeowners.
  
  The bar obtained a court order [...] to assume jurisdiction over the law practice of Gary David Tracy, 50, (bar # 167212). His firm, known as Realty Attorney Group APC and Realty Group & Consulting LLC, gave false hope to dozens of clients whose homes were already in foreclosure.
  
  Many of the clients’ homes had already been sold. In return for thousands of dollars in fees, the firm filed shell petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that only delayed the inevitable loss of the clients’ homes.

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• Tracy formed an illegal partnership with a convicted felon and abdicated responsibility and control of his law practice to non-attorneys, Deputy Trial Counsels Mia R. Ellis and Lara Bairamian alleged in their petition to assume jurisdiction of the practice. “The clients in these situations are desperate and in financial turmoil,” the petition said. “They are vulnerable and seeking a lifeline from a legal professional that can save their home.”
  
  In July, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District in Santa Ana sanctioned Tracy $10,000 after it found his firm was responsible for 80 bankruptcy filings, most of which did not identify the firm as the preparer of the petition.
  
  The State Bar has identified at least nine clients who paid money to the firm and were abandoned. One woman paid the firm $12,400, including an $800 payment deducted from her account after she lost her home and was evicted. Many of the clients had never met Tracy.
  
  [The] order by San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Brian S. McCarville authorized the bar to secure the firm’s files, freeze its bank accounts and notify its clients to seek new counsel. Clients who have additional questions are advised to call the State Bar at 213-765-1778.

For the State Bar press release, see State Bar Shuts Down Law Firm Involved In Bankruptcy Fraud Scheme.