Attorney Stephen Siringoringo, 32, Garden Grove, California, bar # 264161, has been disbarred for defrauding homeowners in a loan modification scam. Finding that he posed a “substantial threat” to his clients and the public, and continued to engage in unlawful activities, the State Bar Court has ordered that Siringoringo be prohibited from practicing law.
Siringoringo was placed on inactive status July 29, 2013, pending the outcome of a disciplinary case against him. Siringoringo was in the midst of a trial for 25 counts of misconduct tied to loan modification matters and faces additional charges in connection with 14 other cases outlined in the court’s decision and order of inactive enrollment.
State Bar Court Judge Richard A. Honn wrote that Siringoringo’s business model violated Civil Code section 2944.7, which prohibits loan modification professionals – both attorneys and non-attorneys – from charging fees before they have performed all the services that they were contracted for.
According to Honn, the Siringoringo Law Firm set up retainer agreements with its clients whereby the loan modification work would be split into stages. In stage one and two – which involved pre-qualification and completing a loan modification application – clients would be charged between $2,000 and $3,500. In stage 3, during which the firm was to submit the loan modification application and purportedly negotiate with the lender, clients were charged $495 every 30 days while awaiting the lender’s decision.
Siringoringo is the third attorney this year that the State Bar Court has placed on involuntary inactive status for alleged misconduct. In May 2013, the court placed Los Angeles attorney Gene Wook Choe, 50, [bar # 187704] on involuntary inactive status for alleged misconduct in loan modification matters similar to the allegations against Siringoringo.
In June 2013, the court granted the State Bar’s application to involuntarily enroll Hal Erwin Wright [bar # 157814] as an inactive member. Wright, 58, Davis, California, has been charged with multiple acts of misconduct involving moral turpitude and dishonesty, including misappropriation of funds.
