San Francisco Lawyer Accused in Plot to Steal Assets of Missing Man
A San Francisco lawyer has been accused of helping forge documents in a scheme to obtain the assets of a man who has been missing since December.
Lawyer David Replogle is accused of drawing up a power of attorney so other plotters could withdraw money from the bank accounts of the missing Palm Springs man, 74-year-old Cliff Lambert, and sell his home, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). The home sale wasn’t completed after Lambert’s personal lawyer, Martina Kang Ravicz, saw grant deeds transferring the property, the story says.
Replogle has pleaded not guilty to signing the name of another person with the intent to defraud, as well as other charges, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports.
Three others have also been charged in the scheme. The Daily Journal identifies them as Kaushal Niroula, art consultant Russell Herbert Manning, and former Replogle client Daniel Carlos Garcia. Niroula has also pleaded not guilty, the Desert Sun says, and the other two are still at large.
The four men are charged with several counts of felony forgery, impersonation and burglary, the Daily Journal says.
The power of attorney papers allegedly gave Manning the authority to sell Lambert’s home to Niroula for $298,000, although it was valued at $1 million. Authorities say Replogle admitting he accepted $5,000 from Niroula to forge papers, the Daily Journal story says.
