Ex-Attorney Charged in Alleged Loan Modification Scheme Victimizing Over 400
A California lawyer who lost his license to practice in October and was sued by the state attorney general is now facing criminal charges over a claimed $1.25 million mortgage loan modification scheme targeting struggling homeowners.
Christopher Lee Diener, 42, with the help of two business partners, allegedly defrauded more than 400 individuals by obtaining advance payments for loan modification services, such as interest rate and principal reductions, that they were unable or unwilling to provide, according to the Orange County, Calif., district attorney’s office. He is charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft and 97 counts of grand theft by false pretense, reports the National Law Journal.
If convicted of these felonies, he could be sentenced to as much as 70 years in prison.
Now being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail, he is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Santa Ana, Calif. His lawyer in the civil case didn’t respond to a request for comment by the legal publication.
In an unusual press release in September, the State Bar of California identified 16 lawyers that it said were under investigation for alleged misconduct concerning loan modification services.
Diener, who had been sued by the state attorney general several months earlier, was not on that bar list.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Tempted By Foreclosure Crisis, Some Lawyers Overcharge & Underwork”
Office of the California Attorney General (press release): “Brown Sues 21 Individuals and 14 Companies Who Ripped Off Homeowners Desperate for Mortgage Relief”
