- 6 -
lien relating to his 1956 Mercedes Benz in favor of his friend
Lee Cogan (Cogan), even though he did not owe Cogan money; (2) a
deed of trust secured by their residence in favor of petitioner’s
office manager, Charlene Edgar (Edgar), purportedly securing a
$164,465.06 debt, even though petitioners did not owe Edgar any
money; (3) a deed of trust secured by petitioner’s law office
building purportedly securing a $50,000 debt owed to petitioner’s
accountant, James O’Leary (O’Leary), when petitioner owed no
money to O’Leary; and (4) a deed of trust in favor of Lewellen
for $38,000, when petitioner owed Lewellen $8,000-$10,000 in
unpaid accounting fees. Edgar prepared the deeds of trust, and
Sieveke notarized them.
C. Petitioner’s Law Practice
1. Organization of Petitioner’s Law Office
Petitioner was a deputy district attorney in Orange County,
California from 1969 to February 1972. He has specialized in
family law since 1983. Petitioner was a sole practitioner in
Santa Ana, California, during the years in issue. Petitioner’s
law office is located in a one-story building that he owns.
Edgar began working as petitioner’s office manager around
1982. Edgar took over the bookkeeping and accounting for
petitioner's law practice in 1991. From 1995 to early February
1999, Edgar was responsible for the day-to-day management of the
office. She was primarily responsible for client billing and
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011