szymoniak- accused shyster-the qui tam monies that belong to many others

7/27/2019 SZYMONIAK- ACCUSED SHYSTER-THE QUI TAM MONIES THAT BELONG TO MANY OTHERS

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Richard Zombeck

Founder, BluZink at www.bluzink.com

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Whistleblower Lynn Szymoniak, Accused

Shyster

Posted: 10/03/2013 8:18 amFinancial Crisis, Housing Crisis, Financial Crisis, Economy, Lynn Szymoniak, Attorney General,Fraud, Robo-Signing, Business News

Do you remember how you felt when they told you the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus weren'treal? Maybe you'd figured that out on your own, or maybe you were like my younger brother andheard it from me when you were five years old -- he's still recovering from that trauma. I may aswell have told him that the crew members from Sesame Street were dealing meth.

I'd imagine that's pretty close to how many of the foreclosure/mortgage activists and advocates

feel about the recent news that their foreclosure hero, Lynn Szymoniak, may not be the capedcrusader they all thought she was. In fact, she may be as predatory and opportunistic as the banksshe claims to be fighting against.

It would appear that Szymoniak acted unethically and possibly illegally, according to acomplaint filed on March 14th of this year in Broward County, Florida naming her as thedefendant. The accusation claims legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment,and fraud against her client, Ignacio Damian Figueroa -- a fellow homeowner at risk offoreclosure.

The details of the story should have attorneys pulling their hair out by the roots. It's difficultenough to find an attorney that will defend a foreclosure case, much less one that acts ethically,but to have an officer of the court using the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship forpersonal gain is truly a story worth everyone's disgust and outrage.

You may remember Szymoniakfrom her 2011 appearance on 60 Minutes


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A lawyer and fraud investigator with a specialty in forged documents... She has trained FBIagents... She used her legal training to go online and research 10,000 mortgages.

Szymoniak, for her part, accepted full credit for the work:

I often, because of my training, look for patterns. And then I began to find the strange signatures.It was a common practice in the last few years to flood the courts with these documents.

The announcer, Scott Pelley, goes on to describe how she painstakingly researched 10,000documents.

Early last year, the media started reporting that Szymoniak had been awarded $18 million for herpart in a whistleblower case. The Huffington Post reported:

Szymoniak is getting $18 million as a result of her investigative efforts -- part of a $95 millionsettlement paid out by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. That'sjust one component of the $25 billion mortgage settlement filed earlier this week on behalf ofthose four banks and Ally Financial.

Isn't that great? We all thought it was. It was very exciting to see someone take on the banks andwin -- win big even. Szymoniak was touted as a hero among the foreclosure activists andadvocates. Lauded for the grueling, arduous, and painstaking work that went into pouring overthousands of documents to win this case.

Unfortunately, according to the suit, Figueroa, the plaintiff and Szymoniak's client, did themajority of the work. He sent her the research, suggested what kind of suit to file, and providedSzymoniak with everything she needed. She then filed a suit herself, naming herself as therelator, and was awarded $18 million. Got that? Szymoniak was Figueroa's attorney and used hiscase to make money for herself.

I've spoken with several attorneys over the last week and all are of the opinion that whatSzymoniak did was, at the very least, unethical and in violation of American Bar Association'scode of conduct.

"[Szymoniak] had a legal, fiduciary, and ethical responsibility to her client and she ignored all of

that," said Don St. Denis of St. Denis & Davey, the law firm representing Figueroa.

Martin Andelman ofmandemanlmatters.com covered the entire case last week in a two pieceseries. You can read more about the issue in "Some of Lynn Szymoniak's Millions May Belongto Someone Else" and "When Lawyers Break the Rules... The Code of Conduct for FloridaAttorneys." Andelman did an outstanding job both researching and explaining the case againstSzymoniak and for me to make an attempt at coming close to the level of detail he covers would


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be borderline plagiarism. I will however provide you with the following CliffsNotes version ofthe events:

Figueroa, after thousands of hours of research created these videos that he posted onYouTube.

Szymoniak contacted him about the videos, according to the suit, to discuss the potentialfor filing of a class action lawsuit against the infamous foreclosure mill attorney, DavidStern. Szymoniak stated that she had been considering filing a class action lawsuit onbehalf of homeowners, but Figueroa suggested filing a Qui Tam action because there hadbeen significant damages that had accrued to the U.S. government.

That same day, Szymoniak expressed, in an email, that she was "very excited about beinghis lawyer," and later sent a retainer agreement, which Figueroa signed, formalizing herrole as his attorney.

During the following few months and several email exchanges, Szymoniak gives everyindication that she is representing Figueroa and Figueroa has no reason to believe sheisn't.

From this point forward, Mr. Figueroa believed that he was now represented by a lawyerwhose plans were to file a class action, but now will file a Qui Tam/False Claims casetogether.

Szymoniak and Figueroa exchange literally hundreds of emails, most of which isFigueroa providing Szymoniak with thousands of hours of research providing

documentation for the case.

This is where it gets interesting: On June 28th, Szymoniak emails Figueroa again, this timesaying, "Just so you know, I have NOT (emphasis hers) filed a Qui Tam and have not foundanyone willing to do this -- so if you are approached, you should consider this...No one is beatingdown our doors to help us."


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The problem with that email is that she had, in fact, filed a lawsuit in South Carolina on June 4th,on her own. A law suit that would have benefitted her client and one in which she used hisknowledge and research in order to file that suit. A suit that she filed not as Figueroa's attorney,but as the Qui Tam Relator -- netting her $18 million of the $95 million settlement.

Andelman then writes of Szymoniak:

That has to be very hard on a person... it would very likely cause me to lose sleep. Because I'dknow that regardless of my planned defenses to Figueroa's allegations, the facts of the complaintalone, as found in the emails, are not going to make me look good no matter what. And I'd thinkthat would be stressful for anyone, but especially someone who's so widely been seen as a hero.

I suggest you read the articles in their entirety. Andelman has links to the court filings and delvesinto Szymoniak's family run non-profit, high-end penthouse suite. He has all of the courtdocuments and email exchanges that you can read for yourself.

For his part, Andelman has been vilified on Facebook and in comments for bringing the case topeople's attention. Most notably Lisa Epstein of foreclosurehamlet.org said, "This is proof that[Martin Andelman] has been paid by the banks."

It's the same "bankster shill" accusations I've been subjected to when I ask the mortgage birthersto prove their ridiculous, un-researched, and potentially harmful legal theories and strategies.

Epstein is best known for her 2012 vanity campaign for Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts. AsSteve Dibert of MFI-Miami wrote:

Epstein may want to consider going back into nursing or finding a day job because this politicalhumiliation has done irreparable damage to her credibility. It damaged her credibility because byher own admission during the campaign, she is an unemployed nurse and has no experience inmortgage lending, finance or the law.

Her website works in tandem with her man Friday and campaign advisor Michael Redman's site,4ClosureFraud. The site was financed by Carol Asbury, an attorney who with the help ofRedman and Epstein presented herself as helping homeowners and providing foreclosuredefense. Asbury is currently serving jail time for mortgage fraud.

Even as she confessed to conning low income Latino immigrants into being straw buyers formillion dollar homes by abusing No-Doc loan programs and turning the posh town of Wellingtoninto a squatters paradise, [Redman] tried to convince people she was set up by the government.

These characters and their followers are definitely a story for another time, but for the purposesof this article, it illustrate the circles Szymoniak travels in. Here are several videos of


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Szymoniak, Epstein, and Redman giving mortgage securitization classes on the streets ofFlorida.

Unlike simply reposting articles without attribution - an infraction for which Redman isnotorious, Figueroa's site, stopforeclosurefraud.com has provided reams of court documents in

the way of pleadings, filings, decisions, etc. Attorneys, advocates, pension funds, andgovernment offices have flocked to his site to download the information he exhaustively postedas a resource to help homeowners.

Figueroa did this at significant personal and financial expense, while fighting his ownforeclosure. At times, due to a lack of donations to the site, Figueroa even posted and uploadeddocument from his car using free wi-fi networks. The site has over 7,000 posts and documents.

In 2011, I had the opportunity to meet Figueroa in Fort Lauderdale while researching an article.Others who had met him described him as cautious, bordering on paranoia and fastidious when itcame to facts. Hardly a character defect when you're pouring through court documents. During

our brief conversation, I found him to be incredibly knowledgeable and oddly humbleconsidering his accomplishments and ability to ferret out information.

At the end of our meeting he handed me Szymoniak's card, telling me she was his lawyer.

Figueroa had no question that Szymoniak was his attorney -- no one should. That's importantbecause as an attorney she has an obligation to her client. She certainly couldn't run off with hiscase and use it to her benefit.

In simple terms: If a client leads an attorney to a rabbit hole and that attorney, while in the rabbithole, comes across buried treasure, the attorney has a fiduciary and ethical responsibility to hand

it over to the client -- at least the lion's share. In this case however, Figueroa drew Szymoniak amap, dug the hole for her, and handed her the proverbial chest and she ran off with it.

As Andelman writes in his second piece on this topic about attorney conduct:

Most of us are only concerned about living within society's laws, but certain professions imposea higher standard on their members... doctors and lawyers come immediately to mind, but thereare others as well, such as police officers, investment professionals, educators, interpreters,pilots, members of the clergy, and even journalists... all are supposed to adhere to a code ofconduct beyond society's laws and rules. Some professions, including both the legal and medical,

require individuals be licensed, and breaches of the profession's code of conduct can result insuspension of the applicable license on a temporary or sometimes permanent basis.

Make no mistake, this is far from a simple he said, she said case. Figueroa has hundreds ofemails, both to and from Szymoniak proving his case. He is, after all, fastidious when it comes tofacts. It is also clearly more than a money grab. The way in which attorneys conduct themselvesis in question here.


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Figueroa did all the work and ended up with nothing. Szymoniak, his attorney, on the other hand,is using her penthouse non-profit to file similar suits in other states in an effort to further enrichherself.

I understand that people need heroes and that when our heroes show a more reprehensible human

side we're disappointed and even hurt. Imagine how you'd feel if O.J. Simpson murdered his wifeor Pee Wee Herman were caught playing with himself in a movie theater - hypothetically, ofcourse.

Everyone should be pissed off that this happened. The attorneys generals, Szymoniak's attorneys,homeowners, homeowner advocates, and taxpayers should all be pissed off that an attorney tookadvantage of a client to essentially walk away with $18 million and accept the title of hero.

Follow Richard Zombeck on Twitter: www.twitter.com/zombeck

Mandelman178 FansBecome a fan7 hours ago (10:52 AM)Actually, what you said is not true. The emails are from her to him much more than him to her.It's what she says that's the problem. I also quoted her response about how she never representedhim in a false claims matter.Favorite (0) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share it

miinfluence28 FansBecome a fan9 hours ago ( 9:26 AM)Mr. Zombeck based on what I read in your article it appears as though you have found Lynnguilty based merely on what you were told by Figueroa. The last I checked in this countryeveryone is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. Do you have anything besides hearsay

evidence? Have you even tried to speak to Lynn or checked to see if a bar complaint has beenfiled? Your attempt at journalism is more unethical than what you have adjudged Ms. Syzmoniakto be. You will be lucky if your irresponsible accusations don't run head on into a lawsuit.Favorite (1) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share itMandelman178 FansBecome a fan


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8 hours ago ( 9:47 AM)Actually, miinfluence... That was my very first question before I wrote a single word... Was thisa "he said/she said" sort of thing. But the answer is no, I'm afraid. There are hundreds of emailsbetween Szymoniak and Mr. Figueroa. And they make it quite clear... She lied to him overseveral months as she asked him to provide her with more and more information. He emails it

over all the while thinking she is his attorney. And then on June 28th and again on July 8 shesays she can't find anyone to file the suit and that she HAS NOT filed a suit, but she had field amonth before on June 4th, and not as the lawyer but as the "relator," she had put herself whereher client should have been. It's just not up in the air. Lynn's defense isn't that she didn't write theemails. He defgnse is that it doesn't say "false claims matter" on the retainer agreement she sentto Figueroa... And that's just irrelevant. She may have convinced herself that because it didn't saysomething she's okay here, but there's not a chance in the world.Favorite (0) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share it

miinfluence28 FansBecome a fan8 hours ago (10:12 AM)I have read your articles pertaining to Lynn which are not he said/she said because all you talk ofis what he said. Writing articles about any subject does not give the writer the right to be thejudge and jury. Perhaps you should investigate both sides of a story before you write about it orstick to writing op/ed pieces. Do you have any articles where you attack and convict foreclosuremill attorneys like David Stern or Marshall Watson? Until a judge or the Florida Bar charges

Lynn with a crime or an ethical violation you should stand down.Favorite (1) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share itThere are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them AllHUFFPOST SUPER USERny rebel85 FansBecome a fan9 hours ago ( 9:24 AM)Another question? Can the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau help him out here?Favorite (0) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share itHUFFPOST SUPER USERny rebel85 FansBecome a fan9 hours ago ( 9:23 AM)


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Wow! Wow! Unfortunately, I'm not surprised. The American people are not protected from somany predators because the government can't be bothered. I hope this man wins his suit.Homeowners are the ones that have been screwed through this entire foreclosure crisis.Favorite (1) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share it

HUFFPOST SUPER USERAlessandro MachiDebtSUSPENSIONrights.blogspot.com59 FansBecome a fan9 hours ago ( 9:16 AM)I'm not sure that what Pee Wee Herman did made in the privacy of a darkened theater to himselfwhile watching others do the same thing on a gigantic screen in front of him has anything to dowith anything nor should it make one think less of him or his TV show.

Favorite (1) Flag as AbusivePermalink | Share it

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