Lawyer bilked out of $80K.

Many Florida lawyers undoubtedly roll their eyes when they see yet another cashier's check fraud story in the News, thinking, "Does anyone really fall for these scams?"

Well, yes, they do, and it has happened again.

The latest victim of this con recently contacted The Florida Bar's Ft. Lauderdale branch office to report $80,000 was swindled from his trust account.

Michael C. Greenberg, a senior attorney with the Bar's Ft. Lauderdale office, said the lawyer was approached by a Realtor with whom he had a long-term relationship to do a closing on the purchase of a house.

"The purchaser of the house was a 'doctor' from England whom the attorney spoke with several times over the phone," Greenberg reported. "The purchaser was initially going to wire transfer the funds ($125,000) to the attorney's trust account, but in the end advised the attorney that he was sending a cashier's check instead."

The cashier's check was drawn on a Canadian bank in the amount of $205,000 "U.S." The purchaser advised the attorney to retain the funds over the purchase price to be used for expenses associated with the closing. The purchaser then sent an email to the attorney requesting that $80,000 of the funds be sent to an account in Japan, where the "doctor" was opening a "new clinic."

Greenberg said the lawyer told him that before wiring the $80,000 to the Japanese bank, he checked with his bank to ensure the cashier's check had cleared. The bank advised him the funds were available, so he wired the money to Japan.

"The attorney's bank subsequently rejected the cashier's check, advising him that it was either 'altered or fictitious,'" Greenberg said. "While responsibility for the transaction is being reviewed by the bank and the attorney, the attorney has offered to replace the $80,000 in his trust account from his personal funds."

The cashier's check scam works because banks typically permit the immediate disbursement of funds based on a cashier's check before it is finally settled, and because Bar Rule 5-1.1(j) holds that cashier's checks carry a "limited and acceptable risk of failure" and are allowed to be disbursed before they are "finally settled, and credited to the lawyer's trust account."

Elizabeth Tarbert, the Bar's ethics counsel, said if a lawyer disburses money against uncollected funds--even if it is one of the exceptions in which the lawyer is allowed to disburse--it is at the lawyer's own risk, and the lawyer will be responsible for replacing the...

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