Hawaiian Foreclosure Defense Attorney Gary Dubin Disbarred Over Previous Legal Issues And For Defrauding Clients 

The Hawaiian Supreme Court has disbarred Hawaiian foreclosure defense attorney Gary Dubin. The court entered a final order imposing the sanction of disbarment effective Friday, October 9, 2020. However, the court did give Dubin an extension to November 9, 2020, to wrap up his business. The court also is requiring Dubin to notify his clients of his disbarment.

The Hawaiian foreclosure defense attorney says he will appeal to the US Supreme Court.

The Hawaii Supreme Court found Dubin had committed multiple serious acts of misconduct. Specifically, in Office of Disciplinary (ODC) Case No. 16-O-151. In that case, the court found that Dubin knowingly lied about his past. Dubin stated in a 2008 mortgage solicitor license application that he had not been convicted of a crime within 20 years. It was discovered this was not true. 

Dubin had spent 19 1/2 months in federal prison for tax fraud in the mid-1990s. He was snagged in Project Esquire. Project Esquire was an IRS dragnet targeting lawyers. 

The Hawaiian Supreme Court Says Hawaiian Foreclosure Defense Attorney Committed Fraud

The court also found that Dubin engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Dubin signed the names of his clients without their permission on a $132,000.00 settlement check made out to them alone. He then placed the funds in his client trust account which he controlled.

The court also found that Dubin did not immediately inform the clients of the receipt of the funds. 

They also found Dubin had not issued invoices to the client until 3 years after the clients retained him in early 2012. Dubin tried to claim in the 2015 invoice that the client owed him $69,702.87 in fees and costs based upon an hourly rate of $385.00 for associates on the case.

The court found the fees unreasonable as it exceeded by $115.00 the hourly rate agreed upon in the retainer agreement. The invoice Dubin sent the client included charges for a non-attorney associate who worked on the case. The court then concluded Dubin overcharged the clients a minimum of $19,885.00. As a result, the court ordered Dubin to pay costs and restitution to the client.

In another case, Dubin withdrew $3,500.00 of the client’s funds when he had not yet earned those funds. Therefore, he misappropriated client funds. The court also found that he did not inform the client when he helped himself to the client’s $45,000.00 from the client trust account. Thus, misappropriating client funds and violating trust reporting requirements.

The court had also found that Dubin failed to cooperate with the disciplinary authorities investigating the case.

Hawaiian Foreclosure Defense Lawyer Uses The Mark Stopa Defense

In his defense, Dubin pulled a Mark Stopa by saying:

The entire thing was a setup.

Dubin also touted his record for the past 20 years protecting consumers. Like Stopa, he claims he’s the best lawyer there ever was.

“What other attorneys even come close to this record? None.”