Greenbrae Lawyer Accused In Fraud Scheme

A Greenbrae lawyer has been recommended by a State Bar Court judge for disbarment for misconduct related to her participation in an alleged scheme to defraud troubled homeowners facing possible foreclosure.

The recommendation to the California Supreme Court to prohibit Sharon Lapin, 57, from practicing law was issued in San Francisco on Wednesday by State Bar Court Hearing Judge Lucy Armendariz, following an 11-day administrative trial last summer.

Armendariz wrote in the 30-page decision that Lapin "participated in a scheme to defraud hundreds of homeowners" and "caused significant harm
to vulnerable, desperate clients, the public and the administration of justice."

Lapin worked as a contract lawyer in 2009 and 2010 for a now-defunct organization that operated under several names including US Loan Audits and US Legal Services.

The company told homeowners facing foreclosure they could solve their problem by paying thousands of dollars for a so-called "forensic loan audit" and then paying additional fees for the filing of a predatory lending lawsuit against their mortgage lender, Armendariz wrote.

The judge said that in fact, the loan audits were worthless boilerplate summaries of laws, and the lawsuits were "cookie cutter" complaints that had little chance of succeeding and were for the most part quickly dismissed by courts.

Armendariz said Lapin allowed non-legal staff of the company to prepare the lawsuits, did not meet with her clients before the lawsuits were filed, did not oppose the banks' motions to dismiss the cases and did not tell the homeowners their cases were dismissed.

The scheme resulted in Lapin "pocketing about $177,000 (in fees) between August 2009 and November 2010 without having to provide any legal services," Armendariz wrote.

In legal conclusions, the hearing judge found that Lapin's misconduct included moral turpitude, aiding the unauthorized practice of law, sharing fees with a non-lawyer, participating in a non-legal lawyer referral service, failing to perform legal services with competence and failing to maintain only legal or just actions.

Disbarment recommendations by the San Francisco-based State Bar must be approved by the California Supreme Court. The bar is an administrative arm of the high court.

Lapin has the option of appealing to the State Bar Review Department before the recommendation is sent to the state Supreme Court.

Her attorney, Richard Lubetzky, said today he is still reviewing the decision, but is likely to appeal to the Review Department.

Lubetzky said the decision was "one-sided and unbalanced."

"There was no evidence by any witness that Ms. Lapin participated in any scheme to defraud the public," Lubetzky maintained.

In the meantime, Lapin, a graduate of Lincoln Law School in Sacramento, was placed on inactive status by the bar beginning on Saturday and is not allowed to practice law until the proceeding is completed.

Lapin was previously placed on two years of probation by the bar in 2006 for misconduct in three client matters.

Lapin states on LegalWebFinder.com, "In practice since 1993, as a solo practitioner. I prefer to maintain a modest law practice so as to be able to work one-on-one with my clients. I truly care about the legal needs of my clients and how their lives are affected by the experience of going through a lawsuit."

Lapin advertises her practice areas as family law, estate planning and real estate.

— Bay City News