Monday, September 24, 2012
Page 4
State Bar Says It Will Seek Discipline of Lawyer Targeted in Federal Suit
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The State Bar said Friday it will seek to discipline a Los Angeles attorney who is being sued by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for loan modification fraud.
A spokesperson said a 30-count notice of disciplinary charges had been filed against Mid-Wilshire lawyer Chance Gordon. Gordon, 41, allegedly committed 30 counts of misconduct in 13 cases, most related to promises of foreclosure relief or loan modification.
Among the State Bar’s accusations are that Gordon:
Failed to perform with competence on behalf of six distressed homeowners whose cases were either dismissed or improperly filed. In one case, Gordon submitted a falsified document in a loan modification application;
Accepted illegal fees for loan modification services in Illinois, Florida and North Carolina, jurisdictions where he was not authorized to practice law;
Wrote three checks that bounced from his client trust account and misrepresented the facts about the overdrawn funds to the State Bar;
Falsely advertised on his now-disabled website that his firm, Resource Law Center, provided nationwide real estate legal services when he was only admitted to practice in California, and made unsubstantiated claims of successful loan modifications involving 42 lenders; and
Promised to pay clients $100 for new client referrals, in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Gordon could be disbarred if found culpable of the charges, the State Bar said in its release.
“This case is a great example of the State Bar working in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to protect the public from unethical lawyers,” Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim said in the release.
In July, the CFPB filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court accusing Gordon of participating in an “unlawful mortgage relief scheme that preys on financially distressed homeowners nationwide by falsely promising a loan modification in exchange for an advance fee.”
Copyright 2012, Metropolitan News Company