Two Florida men were arrested for allegedly preying on homeowners that were close to foreclosure or behind in their payments. The two men, Anton Hilton and Adam Forman recruited lawyers on Craigslist to be able to use the attorney’s bar numbers and names to add legitimacy to their illegal endeavor.
Here is an excerpt from the brief of what the 2 men were alleged to have done:
111. The Enterprise then specifically directs the consumers not to talk to their lenders and to disregard written communications they may receive in the mail, claiming the “law firm” will handle all such communications. 112. Through client updates usually emailed by Defendant Starr, the Enterprise specifically tells consumers: a. “Do not interact with the bank should they call you;” b. “Do not respond or take into consideration mail that you may receive from the bank during the course of your litigation with us. Such mail is computer generated by a collection agency and is not only unofficial, but has no relevancy to your case. As a law firm, we are dealing with the bank on a much higher level than the department that sent you such letters;” c. “Know that our staff is comprised of a team of Fla Bar licensed attorneys and high knowledge paralegals who are monitoring your case 24/7 and interacting with the bank-opposing counsel on a weekly basis. We let nothing ‘slip through the cracks.’” 113. In another client update, the Enterprise warns the clients that “We are negotiating with your Lender on a higher legal level and cannot stress enough to disregard anything you get from your Lender”:
For more information from the ABA Journal about this, click on or cut and paste the attached link into your browser.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_recruited_on_craigslist_were_unwitting_front_men_in_phony_law_firms/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email