Ex-Attorney Gets 21 Months In Federal Slammer After Copping Plea To Escrow Funds Swindle; Pocketed R/E Closing Cash, Left Existing Liens Unpaid

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Atlanta, Georgia):

• TRENT EDWARD WRIGHT, 38, of Cumming, Georgia, was sentenced [...] to serve 1 year, 9 months in federal prison [and ordered to cough up $2,409,760 in victims' restitution] on a mail fraud charge involving a mortgage fraud scheme which victimized lenders and title insurance companies.

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• According to Acting United States Attorney Yates and the information presented in court: In September, October and November 2006, WRIGHT, then a real estate closing attorney operating from an office in Sugar Hill, Georgia, closed approximately 17 loans in which lenders were falsely assured that all prior loans encumbering the properties securing their loans had been paid off. Those lenders then believed that they would be in first position to recoup their loan amounts from the sale of the properties should they go into foreclosure. WRIGHT also wrote title insurance for these loans although he failed to pay off numerous prior recorded liens which encumbered the properties. Rather than ordering title searches and requesting pay off amounts from all prior lenders as required before the new loan closings, WRIGHT either failed to order title searches or disregarded recorded prior encumbrances, causing over $2.4 million in losses. WRIGHT closed his law practice in January 2007, and surrendered his license to practice law in December 2009.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Former Georgia Closing Attorney Sentenced to Prison In Multimillion Dollar Morgage Fraud.

(1) If a Georgia attorney, either in the course of representing you or acting as a fiduciary, screws you out of money or property through dishonest conduct, go to the State Bar of Georgia Clients' Security Fund for information on how to recover some or all of your losses from the fund.

For other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.