San Diego-Area Lawyer Convicted of Vandalizing Foreclosed Home
Corrected: Michael T. Pines was found guilty Thursday of breaking into the foreclosed home of a client.
Pines could face up to three years in jail for four misdemeanor counts, including attempted second-degree burglary, after he and the former homeowner broke one of the home’s windows, the Associated Press reports.
According to the Orange County, Calif. district attorney’s office, Pines wrongly advised the former homeowner, who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of trespassing and was ordered to pay $435, that the July 2009 foreclosure of his house was illegal.
There is a personal injury attorney named Michael Pines in California who is not the defendant in this case.
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Suspended Attorney Is Criminally Charged, Along with Elderly Client, in Another Foreclosed Home Case”
ABAJournal.com: “Criminal Judge Questions Competency of Lawyer Who Advised Clients to Break Into Foreclosed Homes”
Correction
Updated on Sept. 6 to correct the name of personal injury attorney Michael Pines.
