Lifestyles Of the Rich and Infamous

The Illinois Administrator has filed a complaint alleging misconduct that resulted in a theft conviction.

At issue was the disposition of funds held in escrow from a real estate sale with a company(RAI)  owned by the attorney’s close friend Michael Doran

On June 5, 2009, sale of the real estate was  completed and escrow closed. On or about that same date, Respondent presented a  $260,000 demand payment to be paid from the Seabreeze escrowed sales funds to  RAI. The $260,000 was wire-transferred that same day from the Union Bank account  of Stewart Title and Escrow into RAI’s Chase bank account ending in 9414.

RAI performed no environmental impact reports,  nor any other actual work or services to warrant the $260,000 paid to RAI by  Storm Properties.

After receiving the $260,000, Doran funneled  approximately one-half of the funds, or $130,000, back to Respondent for  Respondent’s own personal use, including the purchase of a Ferrari automobile  for the sum of $84,275, and payment for a private party thrown by Respondent  aboard a chartered yacht.

Both the attorney and Doran were found guilty in California.

The Las Vegas Sun reported on the criminal case.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Fraud & Cyber Crimes Bureau determined that there was no legitimate purpose for the $260,000 disbursement, and that Simard and Doran went to great lengths to commit the theft by creating a fictitious contract for services that had never been rendered. Simard also made several false statements during the course of the investigation, and provided the owner of Storm Properties and sheriff’s detectives with counterfeit documents in an attempt to justify the disbursement. In addition, sheriff’s detectives learned that Simard and Doran split the $260,000, and Simard used a portion of it to purchase a Ferrari 550 Maranello from a dealer in Newport Beach. In July, 2010, sheriff’s detectives served a search warrant at Simard’s home in La Habra Heights and seized the Ferrari.

During the course of the investigation, Simard moved to Henderson, Nevada, and Doran lived in Springfield, Illinois. In March, 2012, the Los Angeles County District Attorney filed multiple felony counts against Simard and Doran, including Grand Theft and Conspiracy. Warrants were issued for their arrests. In April, 2012, Doran was arrested in Illinois and extradited to California. Simard was arrested at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after entering the country on a flight from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Simard and Doran were released from custody, and remained free on bond while the case was adjudicated

(Mike Frisch)