Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: investment fraud

You may be able to get a lawyer to handle the matter on contingency. A big concern of any lawyer will be the solvency of the broker. A judgment doesn't pay any bills if it can't be collected upon. You can check with the County Bar Association in the county in which you or the Broker resides about what pro bono legal service resources may be available to you.

Re: investment fraud

Unfortunately, there is little free legal service for this area of the law, although you may check with a senior center in your area--most free or low cost services for seniors have to do with estate planning, wills, etc. If you had the funds, you would sue the broker in civil court and obtain the services of a real estate fraud attorney. At a bare minimum, you should contact the Department of Real Estate and download the complaint forms and file a complaint with that agency, although they will not pursue your claim on your behalf. However, no broker wants to risk losing his or her license, so this may be of some assistance. Lastly, the district attorneys in some counties are finally addressing some illegal conduct, but it has to be really blatant for them to file charges--it cannot simply be negligence or incompetence; you might file a criminal complaint with the local police agency and see if they will take the ball and run with it.

Re: investment fraud

You would probably want to talk to a lawyer with real estate experience.

Regarding fees, if you indeed have a valid fraud claim, many attorneys might take your case on a contingency basis, meaning that you would not pay any hourly attorney fee, but rather the attorney would collect his/her fee as a percentage of your recovery, if any.

Feel free to contact our office if you wish to discuss the matter.