Part 2. Hirschler law firm intentionally committed fraud by filing a Partition suit in a $6,000,000 property scam

 Hirschler Law firm Conspired to Commit Fraud and Financial Exploitation of their Client

April 15, 2023. Author- Brace Impact

     Henrico Circuit Court records show that the Hirschler law firm conspired to financially exploit a client who owned 20% of a Henrico land partnership by filing a frivolous Partition suit to force a sale of 52 acres of prime industrial real estate located at Monahan Road valued at over $6,000,000.

   Hirschler partner Franklin Cragle and Alexander Boyd filed the Partition case (CL22004708) on July 29, 2022, conspiring with ENOSIS partners to have the Circuit Court order the sale of the 52 acres to Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners without the knowledge or permission of a partner who owns 20%. 

See: Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners website

   The 20% partner is Diamiantis and Georgia Drizos, who resides in Athens, Greece. The Partition Suit states that the ENOSIS partners are closely related and live in Richmond, Virginia, except for the Drizos partners, who reside in Athens, Greece.

  Hirschler and ENOSIS partners recognized the address of the Drizos partners in Greece yet intentionally schemed to have a defective service process on them and then obtained a default judgment allowing the forced sale of the property. Additionally, Hirschler conspired to have the Drizos 20% share distributed amongst the remaining ENOSIS partners without the Drizos' knowledge.

  Diamiantis Drizos passed away on August 4, 2022, and his wife, Georgia Drizos, inherited his share. Despite the ENOSIS partners and Hirschler recognizing the death of Diamiantis Drizos, they intentionally avoided informing the Henrico Circuit Court and amended their Partition Suit. 

  The Hirschler fraud and exploitation scheme unravelled when a 10% share owner became aware of the Partition Suit and filed pleadings to impose injunctions and intervene by standing. Court records indicate that the 10% share owner is listed as the Nickolas G. Spanos Trust. The sole beneficiary, Nickolas G. Spanos, filed the Petition to Intervene and Injunction. 

  The Spanos pleadings were filed on August 26, 2022, and served on the ENOSIS partners. The pleadings gave evidence of IRS tax fraud and the financial exploitation of the Drizos, who suffer from dementia and health complications. 

  Spanos filed a subpoena duces tecum for Ryan Lingerfelt of Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners to produce the sales contract and feasibility studies that were being withheld from him and the Drizos. Lingerfelt attorneys filed a motion to quash the subpoena duces tecum on September 7, 2022. The motion to quash had not been heard as Hirschler withdrew the Partition suit.

  Hirschler and the ENOSIS partners did not respond to the Petition to Intervene, and Injunction, which forced Hirschler to file a Non-Suit on November 15, 2022, and the Henrico Circuit Court ordered the Partition Suit to be dismissed on December 22, 2022.

  The Injunction pleading stated that the Drizos must be correctly served according to Virginia Code and the Hague Service Convention, which require foreign residents to be served according to specific regulations. Residents of Greece must be served after the court pleadings are translated into Greek and served by the prosecutor of the municipality where the foreign residents reside.

  Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners terminated the ENOSIS sales contract in March 2023 because the Monahan property was encumbered with IRS tax liens and the unethical and illegal fraud committed on Drizos. 

  In a previous article, complaints were filed with the FBI against Hirschler attorneys Franklin R. Cragle, III, Partner, and Alexander P. M. Boyd, Associate, who are under investigation by the FBI for:

U.S. Code § 1341 - Frauds and Swindles

U.S. Code § 1343 - Fraud by wire

U.S. Code § 875 - Interstate communications

U.S. Code § 21002 - Civil Financial Exploitation

See:

Part 1. Hirschler Attorneys are Subject of FBI Investigations for Fraud and Exploitation in $6,000,000. Property

  The Hirschler law firm had been representing all the owners of a Henrico land partnership called "ENOSIS" since 1998 upon the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) initiated a condemnation take of 21 acres for the construction of I-895 in the Varina district of Henrico County, Virginia. In 2000, VDOT settled with ENOSIS and paid the partners for taking 21 acres; the Hirschler law firm handled the payment distribution.

  By filing the Partition Suit, Hirschler law firm violated numerous rules of the Virginia Code of Professional Conduct (VCPC), the first and foremost being Rule 1.7 Conflict of Interest, which prohibits the representation of clients in cases in which they are opposing parties.

Part 1. Hirschler Attorneys are Subject of FBI Investigations for Fraud and Exploitation in $6,000,000. Property

 Hirschler Law Firm Under Investigation for Federal Code Violations of Fraud and Exploitation of an Elderly and Disabled Person

March 28, 2023. Author-Brace Impact

Criminal complaints filed with the FBI have sparked investigations into the Hirschler law firm in Richmond, Virginia, for numerous federal code violations in an attempt to financially exploit an elderly and disabled person who owns 20% of a $6,000,000 property.

Hirschler attorneys Franklin R. Cragle, III, Partner,  and Alexander P. M. Boyd, Associate, are under investigation by the FBI for:

U.S. Code § 1341 - Frauds and swindles

U.S. Code § 1343 - Fraud by wire

U.S. Code § 875 - Interstate communications

U.S. Code § 21002 - Civil Financial Exploitation 

The criminal complaint filed with the FBI alleges that Hirschler attorneys assisted their clients in committing fraud and financial exploitation of their real estate partner in a Henrico County land partnership consisting of 52 acres of planned industrial land worth over $6,000,000.

The victim is listed as Georgia Drizos, 84, a resident of Greece. Georgia Drizos and her recently deceased husband, Diamiantis Drizos, owned a 20% share of 52 acres close to the RVA Airport, planned for light industrial by Henrico County.

 

The Drizos own the property with other family members who purchased the property in 1998 for $4000 per acre; the property had been zoned for agricultural use. As a result, the property significantly increased in value to approximately $135,000 per acre as development rocketed in Henrico County and was upgraded to light industrial by the Henrico County Planning Commission.

The criminal complaint states that the partners entered into a contract with Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners in March 2022 for an undisclosed amount. The partners should have informed Diamiantis and Georgia Drizos of the contract agreement. In addition, the Drizos did not sign the real estate contract, and none of the partners had a power of attorney for Drizos.

Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners conducted feasibility studies on the property and notified the partners that they would proceed with a sale. However, instead of informing the Drizos of the pending contract of sale, the partners retained Hirschler law firm to file a Complaint for  Partition of Allotment (Partition case) to have the Henrico County Circuit Court approve the sale of the 52 acres. 

Hirschler partner Franklin Cragle and Alexander Boyd filed the Partition case (CL22004708) on July 29, 2022, naming Diamiantis and Georgia Drizos, the U.S. Attorney for Virginia, and the U.S. Attorney General as defendants. 

The U.S. Attorney for Virginia and the U.S. Attorney General are listed as defendants because of an IRS tax lien encumbering the property; court pleadings state that the Hirschler law firm distributed IRS tax funds held in escrow to some of the partners. The IRS funds held in escrow were meant to pay the capital gains tax of the Drizos’ share of a partial land sale in 2000 and a Henrico County condemnation settlement in 2002. 

Hirschler committed tax fraud by violating the IRS FIRPTA Withholding Act by distributing the IRS funds to their clients instead of paying the IRS. Drizos filed their foreign resident tax returns with an approximate capital gains tax of $23,000. The IRS placed a tax lien on the property in 2002, which encumbered the property.

On August 4, 2022, Diamiantis Drizos passed away at his residence in Athens, Greece, leaving his 10% share to Georgia Drizos. Diamiantis Drizos and Georgia Drizos suffer from dementia and have caretakers 24 hours a day.

Hirschler  Attorneys Franklin Cragle and Alexander Boyd committed fraud on the court by intentionally failing to serve the Drizos through the mandatory Hague Service Process for foreign residents. Instead, they served the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which only applies to residents of the United States. Articles of the Hague service process state that the court documents are required to be translated into the foreign country's language and personally served by a municipality prosecutor at the defendant’s address. 

Hirschler’s attorneys intentionally did not have the pleadings translated and sent to the Hague authority in Greece for the personal service process. The Partition case would have been heard without the Drizos knowing there was a pending hearing for their land.

Hirschler schemed to obtain a default judgment on Drizos by defective service and have the court issue an order to grant the Partition suit. Georgia Drizos, suffering from dementia, would not know that her 20% share had been sold, and the partners would have divided the property sales proceeds amongst themselves with the assistance of the Hirschler attorneys.