Lawyers warily picking over wreckage of attorney’s practice 
By Peter Vieth
Published: July 14, 2011
Tags: Fraud, Insurance, Personal Injury, Scams
Lawyers and insurance companies are being careful as they pick through the wreckage of the law practice left behind by disbarred Maryland lawyer A. Ryan Lahuti. Lahuti has been convicted in Virginia for his role in an insurance fraud scam.
There are several hundred clients, mostly members of the Metro DC Hispanic community, left in the [...]
Beware of phony checks at closing
By Peter Vieth
Published: February 10, 2011
Tags: Real Estate, Scams
Scammers continue to target lawyers in Virginia and elsewhere with schemes involving counterfeit checks.
The latest warning comes from leaders of the real estate bar who warn of phony checks being offered for real estate closings.
The attempts at real estate fraud are similar to previous reported scams. The bad check comes with instructions to deposit it [...]
Lawyer falls prey to Chinese ‘check scam’
By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2011
Tags: Banks & Banking, Federal Courts, Judge Dennis Dohnal, Scams
It wasn’t a Nigerian prince, but a Chinese CEO who tripped up an Ashland lawyer in a newer version of a familiar scam that has the victim forwarding his own funds to cover a fake check.
In the Asian version, the scammers may be a little more artful, in their stories and in their counterfeit checks. [...]
Disbarred lawyer hit with $700K verdict for defrauding homeowner
By Alan Cooper
Published: May 27, 2010
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Real Estate, Scams
A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury has returned verdicts totaling almost $700,000 for a woman who contended that she had been scammed by a disbarred lawyer who was operating fraudulent mortgage modification and debt counseling businesses.
The verdicts may be just the beginning of trouble for Howard R. Shmuckler, who has been indicted in federal court [...]
Alex Levay is not stranded in Manchester, England
By Peter Vieth
Published: May 10, 2010
Tags: Scams, Technology
Leesburg lawyer Alex Levay may not have been robbed and left stranded in a foreign land, but he has learned one of the perils of technology in a bizarre hoax last month.
On Friday, April 30, many of Levay’s friends, clients, associates and other correspondents were surprised to get a desperate plea for help coming from [...]
An Elaborate Con: Scammers appear to be getting smarter
By Peter Vieth
Published: January 25, 2010
Tags: Scams
Despite warnings about e-mail scams targeting lawyers, the Internet thieves appear to be busier than ever. Based on the recent experiences of two Virginia lawyers, the scammers may be operating out of Canada using a highly polished confidence game.
One Fairfax County lawyer was close to sending more than $400,000 to an address in China last [...]
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