Real Estate & Property Law

1986 ABA Journal Real Estate & Property Law articles.

Mortgage Fraud Is Rarely Prosecuted

Although bank robbers steal less, they’re a lot more likely to be prosecuted criminally than those who commit mortgage fraud and deed thefts. Lacking staff and resources to pursue such complex real estate cases, prosecutors in New York have tended to treat them as civil matters even as they proliferated…

Apr 15, 2009 5:51 PM CDT

EPA & Lawmakers Focus on New Environmental Issue: Bedbugs

In a summit today near the nation’s capital, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting a new emphasis on a growing environmental issue: A proliferation of bedbugs. The increasing plague of the tiny insects, which notoriously lurk in mattresses waiting to feed on humans as they sleep, apparently has been…

Apr 14, 2009 7:53 PM CDT

As 4 GCs Fight Backdating Charges, Others at Risk in Mortgage Fraud Cases

Former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts successfully fought off charges alleging his participation in improper backdating, but four other general counsel are still in the government’s crosshairs. Meanwhile, at least one expert questions whether general counsel will be at risk in mortgage fraud cases, the National Law Journal reports. Roberts…

Apr 14, 2009 5:48 PM CDT

Thieves Take High-End Home Decor

In the latest real-estate-related scam, burglars in upscale communities on the West Coast reportedly are stealing expensive furniture and decorator items from vacant upscale homes. One group of suspects in such capers, for instance, allegedly had stockpiled some $250,000 in high-end home swag when nabbed by authorities in Southern California…

Apr 14, 2009 1:00 AM CDT

Ga. Real Estate Lawyer Charged in Alleged $28M Ponzi Scheme

A Georgia lawyer accused of masterminding a $28 million real estate Ponzi scheme that duped 125 investors was charged today with one count of wire fraud in a case that he himself initiated. Attorney Robert P. Copeland of Marietta claimed to be spending some $40 million he obtained from investors…

Apr 9, 2009 7:25 PM CDT

Calif. AG: State Bar Staffer Stole $675K to Pay for ‘Spa Treatments’ & ‘Fancy Hotels’

California’s attorney general filed seven criminal charges this week against the Sharon Elyce Pearl, alleging she embezzled $675,000 from the State Bar of California over an eight-year period. Pearl, who as director of real property for the bar was responsible for building management, is believed to have kept two sets…

Apr 9, 2009 10:59 AM CDT

NC Lawyer Convicted in $15M Mortgage Fraud Case

Jurors convicted Charlotte, N.C., real estate lawyer Victoria Sprouse on Wednesday of 18 charges stemming from mortgage fraud schemes involving more than 200 properties. The case, deemed one of the largest mortgage fraud cases in Mecklenburg County’s history, involved $15 million in fraudulent loans, the Charlotte Observer reports. Sprouse, accused…

Apr 2, 2009 10:48 AM CDT

Where’s the Revolution?

Drastic changes in land use law were predicted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo ruling, but four years later, things don’t look that different.

Apr 2, 2009 3:10 AM CDT

I Didn’t Know What I Was Signing, Testifies ‘Ruined’ NC Real Estate Attorney

Taking the stand in her own defense in a massive federal mortgage fraud trial in Charlotte, N.C., a real estate attorney said she should have paid more attention to the closing documents she signed, many of which were prepared by paralegals. But she never intentionally falsified documents, Victoria Sprouse testified…

Apr 1, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

Next Wave in Mortgage Crisis: Abandoned Foreclosures

In many troubled housing markets, some mortgage holders are walking away from foreclosures, calculating that the costs exceed the value of the real estate. These bank walkaways often mean more financial problems for homeowners, who are now responsible for maintaining properties that had been abandoned and then vandalized, the New…

Mar 30, 2009 12:00 PM CDT

NY Lawyers & Dominatrix Accused of Running $50M Mortgage Fraud Scheme

In the news last month when he complained that authorities had searched his law office, a Long Island criminal, matrimonial and real estate attorney now has additional trouble on his agenda. Private practitioner George Guldi, 57, is accused of running, along with a dominatrix, her husband and two more New…

Mar 27, 2009 10:04 AM CDT

Why WolfBlock Didn’t Merge to Survive

Like other well-known law firms that have suddenly imploded, WolfBlock focused in recent months and years on finding a merger partner. But it never succeeded, and the partnership voted yesterday to wind up the more than 100-year-old law firm’s affairs. Three issues raised by the 300-attorney Philadelphia-based firm, at least…

Mar 24, 2009 10:58 PM CDT

Chicago-Based Arnstein & Lehr Acquires 7-Lawyer Fla. Firm

Following up on a previously announced plan of Florida expansion, Chicago-based Arnstein & Lehr is acquiring a seven-lawyer Coral Gables firm. All of the attorneys at Fieldstone Shear & Denberg will be joining Arnstein, and Ronald Fieldstone, David Shear and Michael Denberg will be joining as equity partners, according to…

Mar 24, 2009 8:46 PM CDT

BigLaw Firms Converge on Dubai: Jones Day Launches, CC Amps Up

Adding to an ongoing trend of looking to the Middle East for new legal business, two major international law firms are establishing a bigger foothold in Dubai. Jones Day has just announced that it will be opening an office there with six lawyers, reports Legal Week. They are: project finance…

Mar 24, 2009 1:00 AM CDT

WolfBlock Partners Vote to Dissolve; Many May Be Headed to Cozen O’Connor

After stunning news this morning that WolfBlock was on the verge of possible dissolution, the firm’s demise is now official. In a vote today, the partners decided to close the approximately 300-atttorney Philadelphia-based regional firm, reports Above the Law. While the firm, for which corporate real estate work has been…

Mar 23, 2009 9:03 PM CDT

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