We get it: you got caught doing something wrong as a professional, and you feel guilty about it. Or you're just plain scared of public ridicule, that someone will insist you didn't get what you “deserved.” You just want the whole thing to be over and go away, so you wind up accepting whatever penalty your license board proposes, even if it includes significant fines, even if it includes the loss of your license and your livelihood. We see it all the time. 

Don't do it. Situations are always more complicated than they seem, and there are almost certainly legitimate reasons why you did what you did, reasons that, in the stress of an investigation, you can easily forget about. In addition, you can count on licensing boards to come up with the most severe penalties they can, penalties far beyond the nature of the offense. They're worried about public ridicule, too.  

You have the right to an attorney when your license is in jeopardy. The reason you have that right is because it's difficult to navigate a license defense and easy to wind up with punishments that are simply unfair and unjust. The Lento Law Firm can help. Our Professional License Defense Team wants to make sure you're treated fairly and that you have the very best chance to rebuild your career and your reputation, even if you've made a mistake. To find out how we can help you, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form.   

A Story About Real Estate Fraud 

Here's how the media report stories of people found guilty of crimes: the Yahoo News article reads “Real Estate Broker's License Still Good After He Pleaded Guilty to Scheme to Steal Homes.” Notice how the word “still” expresses the author's disbelief that anyone could still be practicing their profession after participating in a “scheme” like this. The third sentence of the article invites us to sympathize with the “victims”: “One victim, John Jenkins, had to fight to get his home back.”  

We're inundated with new stories like these, and we wind up thinking every instance of wrongdoing is a tale of good and evil. Michael Bogsted, the subject of this story, is clearly the “bad guy.” He might as well be wearing a black hat. How could he possibly still be allowed to sell homes; the article asks over and over again? When we find ourselves caught doing something we shouldn't be doing, we may even heap the same kind of harsh judgment on ourselves. 

Dig a little deeper, though, and you discover that the case against Bogsted wasn't so cut-and-dried. In fact, as the investigation uncovered, Bogsted only succeeded in stealing one man's property, and it turns out that this man had a fraudulent mortgage in his name for $177,000.  

Do these facts absolve Bogsted of his guilt? Of course not. In fact, Bogsted pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $177,000 fine. We all make mistakes, though. And given some of the problems with the Board's case, it's not particularly surprising that Bogsted was able to save his real estate license and help him avoid jail time. 

Fighting for Your Rights 

The general public sometimes has a one-sided view of defense attorneys as people whose job it is to get guilty people out of trouble. The reality is that an attorney's job is to make sense of complicated legal matters. Accusations of wrongdoing are almost never as simple as they seem, and it's an attorney's job to untangle the facts and make sure true justice is done. We don't just accept a prosecutor's assumption; we dig deep to discover just how much responsibility, if any, our clients truly bear. 

Professional licensing boards are under enormous pressure to regulate their industries. As a result, they sometimes try to slap unreasonable penalties on those who have been caught in mistakes. They want the public and politicians to believe they're doing their jobs. If you've been accused of misconduct, though, you're entitled to real justice, not the kind that's motivated by political pressure. The Lento Law Firm will fight to make sure you're treated fairly. Our Professional License Defense Team will separate fact from fiction and negotiate a settlement that's just. 

To find out more, call 888-535-3686 today or use our automated online form.