A Chula Vista bankruptcy attorney has been barred from representing San Diego County clients in bankruptcy cases after officials say he arranged for two clients to sell their homes to a company owned by his wife, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
The DOJ says David Speckman drafted agreements for a pair of debtor clients to sell their homes to Prado Investments LLC without seeking court authorization. He also didn’t disclose information connecting his clients to Prado, including in one case where the Justice Department says he didn’t list his client’s debt to Prado or that Prado was the junior lienholder on the debtor’s home.
In February, a stipulated judgment was entered permanently prohibiting him from representing clients in bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of California. He also agreed to pay a $3,500 fine to resolve an adversary complaint from the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program, which is responsible for overseeing bankruptcy cases.
“Consumers who have fallen on hard times rely on their attorneys to help navigate the way to a fresh start,” said Director Tara Twomey of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees. “Attorneys who abuse this trust for their own gain have no place in bankruptcy court.”
City News Service contributed to this article.