In October Jeffrey Agnew of Ramona agreed to represent myself and my business partner in the collection of funds due to us in the amount of $ 40K which was being discharged by a debtor in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. We had until November 9 to put in a claim with the Bankruptcy court to challenge the discharge of our debt. Agnew was paid a retainer. We received several written correspondences from Agnew regarding work that he alledged was being conducted on our case.in November we received notification from the Bankruptcy court informing us that our debt had been discharged (meaning that we were not going to see a penny) and that no actions or complaints were filed by us. For months after, we repeatedly asked for copies of the documents, proof of work, billing statements and responses to our emails and calls. He repeatedly told us that he was working on the case, that he mailed in the complaint but the postal service lost it, he was doing research to file motions to reopen the case etc. We received nothing. We saw nothing. The deadline to file and possibly recoup our money had past. Any rights to our money was lost.
I filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association which is currently undergoing investigation by a state bar attorney. The investigator told me that Agnew provided NO documentation or proof that he prepared anything. Agnew tried to blame his incompetence on us.
In addition to my complaint, this attorney is currently under review for two other disciplinary actions. According to the state bar, there are many many more complaints filed against him which cannot be released or disclosed until an investigation is complete. The state bar is doing the best they can. I applaud them and appreciate their efforts. Apparantly, the law prohibits the Bar from posting all complaints until they are investigated and determined to be valid. These investigations can take several months before the public even knows about them. Meanwhile, the public has no way of knowing about these complaints until they experience this nightmare themselves. He also has law suits against him for Breach of Contract and Professional Negligence. He has since filed for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. The chances of any of us seeing restitution is unlikely.
He is still practicing law. He will be able to continue until the state bar is in a position to stop this from happening to others.
I have made contact with a few of the other non related injured parties. The losses are outragious. One person is out approximately $ 4 million. All of this information is publically availiable through the California State Bar website and the San Diego Superior Court website (www.sdcourt.ca. Gov)
I know there are more people out there. Please contact me if you have been harmed or sustained a loss by this attorney. I accept the fact that i was cheated and will never be able to reclaim my losses. If anything, I hope this report will save other people from being harmed.
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