U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Tampa, Fla.-area attorney James Lee Clark to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud and wire fraud, according to a Department of Justice press release. Clark had pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2021. According to court documents, from January 2010 through February 2017, Clark, who was a licensed attorney, conspired with his paralegal, Eric Liebman, to defraud mortgage creditors and guarantors holding notes on properties in foreclosure. Clark and Liebman falsely and fraudulently represented to distressed homeowners that they would negotiate with creditors and guarantors to prevent foreclosures in exchange for the homeowners’ execution of quitclaim or warranty deeds for the properties to an entity controlled by Liebman. Clark and Liebman also convinced the homeowners to pay rent or agree to sell their houses. In order to continue collecting ill-gotten rents and/or profit from the property sales, Clark filed fraudulent bankruptcy petitions in the names of the homeowners to prevent the mortgage creditors from lawfully foreclosing and taking title to the properties. Additionally, from January 2012 to February 2017, Clark defrauded his clients out of approximately $1.3 million. Liebman previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud. He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.
