Each betrayal begins with trust. (Phish)
It doesn't get any tougher than that. I just concluded a meeting with the Sheriff’s Department to file a “Criminal Complaint” against my brother, his wife and their Attorney. This was a culmination of several conversations with other agencies and the District Attorney’s Office who directed me yesterday to file the report with the Laguna Niguel Office. The complaint alleges three offenses – Penal Code Section 112 (Perjury), Penal Code Section 132 (Offering Forged or Altered Documents as Genuine) and Penal Code Section 182 (Conspiracy).
This criminal complaint stems from the first Unlawful Detainer Action wherein my brother and his attorney claimed that I was merely a renter despite my having paid the mortgage, property taxes, association fees, improvements etc. In order to prove a tenancy relationship, they produced in court a copy of what they claimed to be a rental agreement. The document was never provided to me prior to trial, which was in violation of evidence rules. At trial, there was a procession of several documents staged by their attorney and that page completely slipped passed me. To this day, I vehemently maintain that there was never a “renter-landlord” relationship between my brother and I. Accordingly, I have made several requests for a copy of the document from their attorney. As of this writing, the request has gone unheeded. A search in all the filed pleadings also failed to locate the document confirming my suspicion of criminal wrongdoing.
This case should have been prevented had I entered into a written agreement with my brother. But because of the relationship, there was an implicit trust that in my mind required only a handshake. I am learning now that strange things happen to people when it comes to money. The case has been a complex and an emotionally draining ordeal that now requires the intervention of a law enforcement agency and the possible incarceration of my own brother, his wife and their attorney. Either way I will derive no satisfaction from that result.
Lesson learned: Trust but verify (Ronald Reagan)
