Did the elements of the offense to which you pled guilty include some culpable mental state? Or does New York punish lawyers who are involved in schemes to defraud even when they don’t know the nature of the schemes?

Was it an Alford plea, or did you tell the judge that you were pleading guilty because you were guilty? (Fingers crossed?)

Then let’s talk about Magic Money, which can wind up in the pockets of fraudsters without any loss to anyone.

After we’ve exhausted those topics, we can talk about disappearing tweets, without which this post wouldn’t likely have been written.

AFG apparently closed hundreds of transactions starting in the early 2000s. I was referred those clients the end of 2007 beginning of 2008 when they apparently turned in their mortgage broker license. Discovery indicated that AFG employees had altered title documents, provided fake Verification of Deposits, Verifications of Employments, etc., paid off buyers after closing back at their respective homes (in the indictment) and so forth. Bank underwriters ignored First American Core Logic Fraud Reports and issued approvals on patently unqualified buyers & questionable properties.

Unfortunately, again, I cannot comment on these facts at this time.

But my point is, I didn’t hide this nightmare, all the clients & colleagues of the firm are aware of it and I have been adjusting my online profiles to be in line with my situation. I have profiles on numerous sites and the twitter profile was one of the only ones I had not gotten to. I rarely visit the twitter site itself as I access the twitter feed through TweetDeck.

As far as social media goes, I am not a guru selling a $29 e-book on how to get more followers or other such nonsense. I am a tech geek – I do a lot of work with Photoshop and web design – more as a hobby. Friends and clients have asked me to help them create profiles, blogs and so forth and how to manage the overwhelming influx of information so as not to end up with “information overload”. This is not a career for me per se – its just something I enjoy.

Not one of my posts, tweets etc. was a solicitation for business. Each and every one is a content share. Solicitations for business constitute spam.

(Which count or counts did you plead guilty to, by the way?)

Are you saying that you participated in a sham closing without knowing that it was a sham closing? Because, other than the Magic Money theory, I don’t see how knowingly participating in a sham closing is not ripping someone off.

Further, it wasn’t mortgage fraud my friend – that didn’t come on the books until Fall of 2008 here in NY.

The American taxpayer is paying for those individuals who lived far above their means and:
1. decided to use their homes as an ATM; and
3. lied about their income and assets;
There are two types of fraud – Fraud for Housing & Fraud for Profit. These examples fall under the category of Fraud for Housing. Fraud for Housing Makes up 85% of the mortgage fraud committed.

It is the policy of the enforcement agents not to prosecute Fraud for Housing. Go figure.

One of the first things I recommend to clients is to shut down their myspace, facebook and twitter accounts pending a resolution.

Did your 14 years in law teach you that banks give out magic money that, once it is stolen, doesn’t have to be replaced. The American taxpayer will be paying for the mortgage fraud of the nineties and oughties, in one way or another, for decades.

Indirect harm? Maybe, but harm nonetheless.

By the way, does your criminal defense lawyer know that, pending sentencing, you’re publicly denying that the crime you committed caused any harm when you committed whatever crime you didn’t-commit-but-pled-guilty-to-in-open-court-but-not-under-oath-so-it-doesn’t-count? (Is that an accurate statement of your current position?)

I suggest counselor that you stick to an area of law where you possibly have some sort of knowledge. Your ignorance is showing.

I do not advise anyone on social media policy – did you miss that? Did I stutter?

Tell the people who lost their life’s savings when the mortgage bubble collapsed that you didn’t rip anybody off by participating in a sham closing. I doubt that they’ll have much sympathy.

Back to task: would you advise the people you assist to delete (and then deny deleting) Twitter posts? Because that gets one’s attention.

2. I did not rip off anyone – I collected the legal fee that was agreed upon with the buyer or seller. The allegation was solely that I “participated in a sham closing”.

3. I am sure lots of people are making gingerbread cookies, houses etc this week but I certainly could not imagine YOU making gingerbread cookies.

4. The social media consulting that I do is to assist people with setting up profiles, linking their profiles, creating blogs, adding feeds to an RSS reader and sharing information with other people in their industry. I do not advise them of how to manage their business. This is a purely enjoyable project for me – not a career.

You don’t appear to be the gingerbread-making type. It is very cute of you.

Enjoy!