A Coral Springs lawyer forged the signatures of two Miami-Dade judges while lying to a client about a bogus lawsuit settlement, authorities said Wednesday.
The lawyer, Frank J. Ingrassia, who was working with a disgraced foreclosure rescue company called Outreach Housing, was arrested last week in Broward County and charged with three felonies involving the forgery of court documents.
Ingrassia, who was disbarred last month for the misconduct, drew headlines in 2008 after he began preemptively suing banks for providing allegedly fraudulent mortgages. Aventura businessman William Klein hired Ingrassia to sue his bank after reading a Miami Herald article about the attorney's efforts.
According to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday, Ingrassia presented Klein with paperwork showing a $1 million settlement signed by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maxine Cohen Lando, and a foreclosure dismissal order signed by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ronald Dresnick.
But neither judge had signed any such legal documents, and they were never filed in court, according to an arrest affidavit by Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Michelle Bufalino.
Klein said Ingrassia even recounted to him detailed and ultimately bogus tales of dramatic courtroom hearings. Klein is still engaged in a legal battle to keep his Aventura condo.
Ingrassia ``performed a two-year charade,'' Klein said.
``He set me back to the point where I don't know what my future is going to be. I have to litigate all over again.''
Ingrassia, a former Florida assistant attorney general, did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment.
The 51-year-old lawyer was arrested after FDLE seized his computer from his Coral Springs office, where the forgeries allegedly took place.
The forgeries appear to be isolated, authorities said.
``At this time, there is no evidence he did this to anyone else,'' said Broward Assistant State Attorney David Schulson, who is prosecuting the case.
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