ParalegalGateway's Weblog

Paralegal Honored for Convicting Ex-Leader

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder honored six federal prosecutors and a paralegal for their work convicting Pavel Lazarenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister who moved to Marin County.

The seven received the Attorney General's Award for distinguished service during a ceremony Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The award, in its 57th year, was given to 286 honorees this year.

The recipients for the Lazarenko case, which was prosecuted in San Francisco, were prosecutors Peter Axelrod, Patricia Kenney, Stephanie Hinds, Hartley West, Jonathan Howden and Martha Boersch, and paralegal Christine Ying Tian.

Lazarenko, who moved to a $6.75 million Novato mansion after leaving the Ukraine, was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined $10 million in 2006 for money laundering, wire fraud and extortion. Authorities said it was the first prosecution of a foreign political leader for laundering the proceeds of foreign crimes through American financial institutions.

Source: Contra Costa Times

Paralegal Protects Employer from Alleged Hitman

A paralegal became so concerned about a phone call from a man, seeking to make an appointment with her boss, that she told the lawyer not to come to work one afternoon and told her coworkers to lock the office doors.

Leslie Margolies said she remembered getting a phone call in June 2002 from a potential client who wanted an immediate appointment. She initially told the caller that her boss, Peter Paras, would not be back in the firm's Red Bank office until that Friday afternoon.

The caller said he was referred to Paras by someone who gave him the attorney's business card, and that he needed a lawyer because of a custody issue, she said. But the conversation was unusual and she grew concerned about the lack of accurate responses she was getting when she questioned the caller, she said on the witness stand this morning in the courtroom of state Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman, sitting in Freehold.

Margolies, now retired, testified at the trial of Nicholas A. Lucarella, 57, a former Millstone Township resident, who is accused of hiring a Passaic man to try to kill his attorney soon after losing a motion in a custody dispute with his ex-wife over their three young children.

That North Jersey man, Vancleve 'Q' Ashley, along with Ramaine 'Rah Rah' York, also of Passaic, whom authorities say Ashley recruited for help, have pleaded guilty in the case.

Prosecutors say Ashley was the man who called the paralegal in June 2002, using a fake name and pretending he needed an appointment. They say he and York went to see the attorney under the guise of a legal matter, then waited outside his office at The Galleria until the lawyer walked out. Ashley was behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle that struck the attorney, causing serious injuries, including a broken back, pelvis and several ribs, authorities said.

Defense attorney Brian J. Neary has said his client, Lucarella, who now lives in Valley Cottage, Rockland County, N.Y., had nothing to do with the assault on the Red Bank attorney who specializes in matrimonial law.

Under questioning from First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr., the paralegal said during that June 2002 telephone conversation, the caller said he worked in entertainment, and owned his own promotions company, called Sex Money Murder, but then failed to provide a telephone number where he could be reached, telling her the area code would not "go through."

Margolies had initially told the caller that her boss would be available that Friday afternoon - a day that she already had a scheduled to take off, but she grew so alarmed by the conversation that she told Paras not come into the office that Friday afternoon and told the staff to lock the doors.

"I was very concerned," she said.

Margolies said she worked with Paras at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, a prominent Woodbridge law firm that had a satellite office in Eatontown. She continued to work for him when he and some other attorneys opened their own firm in Red Bank.

Under cross-examination, she said it was fair to say that her boss enjoyed a good reputation in Monmouth County because he was a good lawyer.

Paras took the stand late this morning, and under questioning, provided some background about his education and work: he earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, his law degree from Villanova Law School and has been an attorney for 33 years.

He said another attorney handled Lucarella's divorce, but a couple of months after that divorce paperwork was signed, the former Millstone Township man contacted the Red Bank law firm because he wanted to change the terms of his child custody agreement. Lucarella and his ex-wife had joint custody of their three children -- twins who were about 5 years old and an older sibling, who was about 9, said Paras.

Lucarella told the lawyer he wanted full custody of the children because his ex-wife was imposing obstacles in his relationship with them, Paras said on the stand.

Meanwhile, Lucarella's ex-wife filed a motion, also seeking to modify the custody agreement. She also wanted full custody and she wanted all of her ex-husband's visits with the children to be supervised.

Source: APP.com (beta)

Award-Winning Paralegal Faces Fraud Charges

The president of the Lafayette Commission on the Needs of Women was arrested on charges of forgery, theft and bank fraud Thursday following an investigation at her former employer's office.

Guadalupe "Lupe" Acosta, 57, had worked for the Daniel M. Landry III law firm for 25 years, according to a statement from Landry. Earlier this year, an internal investigation found that multiple forgeries and bank fraud had occurred at the firm, with losses of more than $100,000. The fraud allegedly began in 2005 and continued over the next three and a half years.

No clients' funds were involved, Landry said in the statement. Acosta was immediately terminated once the losses were discovered, and law enforcement agencies were notified. Louisiana State Police handled the investigation, the statement read.

"People who commit these offenses need to realize they will be caught, and I would encourage any employers who discover this criminal activity to prosecute this criminal offense to the fullest extent allowed under the law," Landry's statement read.

Acosta remained in jail as of Thursday evening, according to the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center Web site. She faces one count of theft and one count of bank fraud, both felonies, as well as 114 counts of forgery.

According to the commission's April 2009 newsletter, Acosta recently received the 2008 Louisiana State Paralegal Association Meritorious Service Award and has been involved in the legal field for 30 years, working as a paralegal since 1984. She has been a member of several legal organizations, including the Louisiana State Paralegal Association, Lafayette Paralegal Association, Southwest Louisiana Bankruptcy Bar Association and National Association of Legal Assistants.

In addition, she has served as a board member of Lafayette Volunteer Lawyers and a committee member of the Lafayette Parish Bar Association. Last year, she was elected to serve on the National Association on the Commissions for Women, the first woman from Louisiana to serve on the national board. She has also presented several seminars and been a guest speaker at local schools during career days.

As of Thursday, there was no indication that the alleged fraud involved any other organization.

Source: The Daily Advertiser

Bogus Paralegal Barred From Assisting Client

OTTAWA-A man allegedly drumming up legal business by posing as a paralegal was effectively barred from the Ottawa courthouse Thursday.

Gary Pierre, recently convicted of fraud in Gatineau, appeared in the prisoner’s dock in Ottawa court to justify why he should continue representing Jacques Racine, an Ottawa man accused of drunk driving.

Racine, who had been having difficulty contacting Pierre, learned for the first time Thursday that his legal representative had recently been sentenced to 15 months in Gatineau jail. He immediately fired Pierre.

Justice Lise Maisonneuve said Pierre was not qualified in any way to represent defendants in an Ontario court and based on expert advice from a court interpreter, rejected his claim that the word “EXCRIM” written on his business card means “to assist” in Swahili.

The word, she added, does not even exist in Swahili.

Pierre charged a fixed rate of $50 an hour for his services — significantly less than the hourly rate of qualified lawyers.

Maisonneuve ordered all of Pierre’s previous involvement in the Racine case struck from the record — a precedent, say lawyers, that will prevent him from representing others after he leaves jail.

Defence lawyer James Foord, one of several lawyers in court watching the proceedings, welcomed the judge’s decision.

“Our No. 1 concern,” he said, “is that individuals aren’t being misled by ineffective and illegal assistance. We have had some concerns (about Pierre) for a while.”

Pierre, who has appeared as a legal representative several times at the Ottawa courthouse, denied the allegations and said he had always been open about his lack of formal legal qualification — and asked clients to sign a release that they understood his status.

A motion by assistant Crown attorney Paul Attia to have Pierre held in contempt of court was rejected.

Source: The Ottawa Citizen   

Kidnap Hoax Mom is Paralegal

ORLANDO, Fla. - Bonnie Sweeten agreed today to return to Pennsylvania to face charges she faked her kidnapping and that of her daughter and used a friend's driver's license to buy airline tickets for a trip to Disney World.

Looking drawn and worried, Sweeten, 38, of Feasterville, waived extradition at a brief hearing at the Orange County Jail.

Wearing a blue jail uniform, her hair hanging loose, Sweeten answered with a simple "yes" to questions posed by Florida Circuit Court Senior Judge Charles Prather and ended her appearance by saying, "Thank, you."

She is expected to fly to Philadelphia sometime today.

The charges she now faces - filing a false report and identity theft - are misdemeanors.

Weeks before Sweeten took off for Florida with her 9-year-old daughter Julia Rakoczy on Tuesday, authorities in Bucks County looked into an allegation that she might have stolen $300,000 or more from an investment account belonging one of her ex-husband's relatives, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

The inquiry went nowhere because the purported victim declined to cooperate with authorities and hoped to get back any missing money from Sweeten directly, said a detective who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

The old allegation is part of a broad police inquiry into reports that Sweeten might have taken money from financial accounts belonging to several people, including her parents, her former employer and a former co-worker at a law firm.

Michelle Henry, the Bucks County district attorney, confirmed the existence of "an ongoing investigation" into possible theft by Sweeten.

"We essentially are looking at where the money came from that used to sort of fuel this trip" to Florida, Henry said, "and whether or not it was legitimately obtained."

Some aspects of the investigation predated the frenzy of police activity that Sweeten set off Tuesday when she made a 911 call falsely reporting that she and her middle child, Julia, had been kidnapped in Upper Southampton, Henry said.

The call set off a regional Ambler Alert for the missing child and led to a hunt for her in Pennsylvania and Florida.

By the time the FBI found the mother and child at an expensive hotel in Disney World on Wednesday night, the made-up story of the abduction had become a national news story and persistent fodder for network TV and the 24-hour cable shows.

Two detectives - one from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, the other from the Upper Southampton Police Department - flew to Orlando yesterday with the intent of escorting Sweeten back to the state.

Once back in Pennsylvania, officials said, Sweeten will be arraigned in Bucks County on charges of filing a false police report and identity theft, both misdemeanors.

Her daughter Julia returned home last night in the company of her father, Anthony Rakoczy, who has been divorced from Sweeten since 2003.

Pennsylvania authorities said they are only beginning to look into sketchy reports that Sweeten might have been involved in thefts. Some of the reports surfaced as police sought clues into the purported kidnapping.

A police affidavit filed after Sweeten's arrest said she had withdrawn $12,200 from accounts at two Wachovia Bank branches in Bucks County in the days before her false 911 report.

According to the police detective with knowledge of the investigation, at leastr one of the accounts was in the name of Sweeten's parents.

He said Sweeten had power of attorney over the accounts, so it would be up to the District Attorney's Office to determine whether a theft charge might be warranted.

"But I'll say this," the detective added. "The parents didn't know about" the withdrawals.

An additional police inquiry into Sweeten's conduct was said to involve the report contained in the affidavit that she had used a former coworkers driver's license as identification in buying airplane tickets for her daughter and herself to Florida.

Police said Sweeten had asked to borrow the driver's license from Jillian Jenkinson of Feasterville for the purpose of rolling over a 401(k) investment account that belonged to Jenkinson. The two had worked together at Carlitz & Eisenberg, a law firm in Bucks County.

Sweeten's activities at the law firm are another area police reportedly are investigating. The detective said he did not know whether any thefts would be found.

Ellen C. Brotman, an attorney for one of Sweeten's former bosses, lawyer Debbie Ann Carlitz, said yesterday that she was aware of a criminal investigation into Sweeten's conduct with Carlitz's firm and with the Carlitz Foundation, which was formed in October to raise money for autism programs and other children's charities.

Sweeten is a paralegal and notary public. Both jobs - state records list Sweeten as the foundation's contact and "tax responsible party" - appear to have given her unusual access to the management and finances of the two business entities.

Brotman described the Carlitz Foundation as "a privately funded foundation" and said, "It was funded exclusively by the Carlitzes' money. The foundation has just been granted not-for-profit status and has not accepted any outside donor money."

Brotman said it would be inappropriate for her to discuss the investigation. But she said Carlitz was "shocked and devastated by the actions of her former trusted employee and believes the investigation is ongoing and it is inappropriate to comment any further until the investigation is complete."

Source: philly.com

London Paralegal Fleeced His Clients

Ed Finlan carried on ripping off people even when he was criminally charged.

Yesterday, before the disgraced legal consultant was sent to prison for fraud and theft, he apologized to his victims.

"I am sorry to the individuals involved. If the funds were available, they would be paid back," he said.

The judge who heard Finlan plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud and theft questioned the sincerity of the former London courts manager.

"You carried on. It didn't slow you down. The pace seemed to pick up," said Superior Court Justice John McGarry. "It's beyond me. You seem to have no understanding of the damage and results of your activity."

McGarry accepted Finlan's pleas and a recommendation from the Crown and defence for a six-month sentence.

This was Finlan's third round of charges. His first sentence was house arrest in 2002.

Finlan lost his appeal of a two-year less a day sentence earlier this month for similar convictions in 2007. That sentence also included a three-year probation period.

But because Finlan's sentence is now more than two years, he will be sent to a federal institution and probation cannot follow.

McGarry said the probation had been put in place because of "a real concern of recidivism."

McGarry said Finlan, who held himself out as a paralegal, "had every opportunity to lead an honest life."

Finlan pleaded guilty to 10 fraud charges and one of theft. The victims were clients Finlan fleeced and businesses that couldn't cash his bad cheques.

Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Chalykoff said the crimes were "heinous and very upsetting" for the people who suffered financial losses and emotional turmoil.

Had the cases gone to trial, Chalykoff said the sentence would have been more severe.

In one case, a woman in a crash hired Finlan to help her. She received a cheque for nearly $14,000 from the insurance company.

Finlan said the payment should have been more and had her make out a bank draft in the amount paid to him. She hasn't seen any of the money since, court heard.

Source

Lawyer Admits to Sexually Harassing Legal Assistants

Bob Brown Jr., the county's first public defender, admitted to the N.C. State Bar that he sexually harassed three women while they worked for him.

In a consent order, signed Friday and posted Monday on the Bar's disciplinary notice site, Brown agreed to surrender his law license for five years.

The order portrays Brown as a public defender who repeatedly made sexual advances toward women who worked for him, wrapping an arm around them, massaging their shoulders and stroking one's stomach. He questioned them about their sexual preferences, the order states, commented on their figures and asked their bra sizes.

Brown served in the public defender's office from 1990 until Jan. 31, 2006, when he agreed to step down under pressure from Judge Orlando Hudson.

In 2007, assistant public defender Danielle Bruno, former paralegal Janice Ingram and former legal assistant Rachel Allen filed a sexual harassment suit against Brown in civil court. (Source >>>)

Sister of Missing Paralegal to Pick Up Search in China

Sossy Ashekian will leave Windsor for Hong Kong Monday to assist in the search for her sister Ani, who vanished in the city of seven million people nearly two months ago.

She will join a growing team of volunteers circulating pictures of Ani on the bustling streets of Hong Kong, where a $8,000 reward ($50,000 in Hong Kong currency) is being offered for information on Ani’s mysterious disappearance.

“She’s going to go out and look for her sister,” said Rosie Kampstra, the eldest of the three Ashekian sisters. “Hopefully, Sossy can make a difference.”

Ani Ashekian was raised in Windsor, where her sisters and family still live, and is a graduate of the University of Windsor and St. Joseph’s high school. She had been working as a paralegal in Toronto.

She left for Beijing Oct. 24 and was supposed to return home from Delhi, India, Dec. 15. She went missing in Hong Kong in mid-November and hasn’t been heard from since. There is no record of her leaving the country. Her last contact with her family was a Nov. 10 text message sending birthday greetings to Kampstra’s two-year-old daughter.

The last time Ani’s credit card was used was also on that date — a disconcerting sign — but her family is refusing to give up hope, noting there have been a dozen sightings in Hong Kong of someone fitting Ani’s description.

“I just know she’s still out there. I just have that feeling inside that she’s still around. I don’t have that eerie feeling that something bad has happened to her,” said Kampstra. “I know we’re going to bring her home.”

Kampstra described her sister as “free-spirited” and a “strong person” who planned on moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina, after returning from Asia.

Ani’s boyfriend, Wenddell Walsh, returned home from Hong Kong earlier this week after several fruitless days spent searching and distributing flyers. The number of volunteers helping him grew each day thanks to coverage the story received in the Hong Kong media.

In an interview with Global News, Walsh said police had surveillance tape footage of Ani withdrawing $1,000 from an ATM on Nov. 10.

“She had looked over her shoulder a couple of times,” Wendell said in the interview. “We don’t know if she was alone but we do know it was her.”

Wendell and Kampstra both praised the work of Hong Kong investigators, who contact Kampstra almost daily with updates or seeking information about Ani. Kampstra also credited the Department of Foreign Affairs for its work on the case.

Kampstra expressed her heartfelt thanks to the old friends and acquaintances who turned out for a fundraiser last Sunday at the Armenian Centre.

The family is holding off on hiring a private investigator because they do not want to impede the police investigation. They have posted a reward of $50,000 in Hong Kong currency, roughly the equivalent of $8,000 in Canada.

“You have to stay positive. That’s the only way we’re ever going to bring her home,” said Kampstra. “I keep telling my mom, ‘Tears aren’t going to bring her home, mom; you’ve got to stay positive.’”

Anyone with any information can write findani@gmail.com or check out the Facebook group entitled “Missing: Ani Ashekian.” (Source >>>)