Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Ex-Legal Secretary With History Of Financial Trouble Gets Bagged (Finally?) For Allegedly Fleecing About $200K From Clients Of Her (Snoozing?) Law Firm Employers; Indictment Lists 11 Victims; Handiwork Dates Back To At Least 2007; Prosecutor: "There’s No Telling How Long It Went On!"
In Elyria, Ohio, The Chronicle-Telegram reports:
A former secretary at two law firms has been indicted for allegedly stealing about $200,000 in funds from legal clients dating back at least to 2007.
Cheryl Guthman, 50, faces 36 counts of theft and six counts of tampering with records, according to a secret indictment unsealed [] after her arrest.
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Guthman used a variety of means over the years to steal from the clients of the law firms she worked for, including altering checks, writing checks to herself and taking cash from clients and keeping it. Guthman appears to have spent the money on her own expenses, he said.
“She was basically shuffling quite a bit of money around,” Will said.
He said his office launched an investigation into Guthman after irregularities were found by county Probate Judge James Walther and his staff last spring. Will said although the investigation went as far back as 2007, the thefts may have started earlier.
“There’s no telling how long it went on,” he said.
Walther said his office noticed problems in the finances of a bank account linked to the estate of Emma Rothgery, who was the aunt of Kenneth Rothgery, head of Rothgery and Associates, where Guthman worked until she went to work for Smith, Illner and Gemelas a few years ago.
Rothgery had served as the guardian of his aunt and later as executor of her estate, Walther said. The guardianship account also had problems as did other accounts linked to work Guthman had done, he said. The indictment listed a total of 11 victims.
“When we became aware of it we started running all of the cases she had been involved with, and when we discovered something, we turned it over to the prosecutor,” the judge said.
***
Guthman appears to have had financial problems over the years based on a review of court records that show unpaid taxes, civil liens, foreclosure lawsuits and a bankruptcy filing that date to the mid-1990s.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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