News Releases

State Bar issues consumer alert for San Francisco attorney

The State Bar of California announced today that a San Francisco attorney has been charged with taking $100,000 he was supposed to use for a real estate transaction and falsely telling the client he needed to provide another $100,000 to complete the deal.

The State Bar recently posted a consumer alert on Dax Yeophantong Craven's profile page. If found culpable of the charges, Craven, 40, [bar #248583], would be subject to discipline for professional misconduct by the California Supreme Court, up to and including disbarment.

According to the notice of disciplinary charges filed by the State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel on July 11, Craven's misconduct occurred when he was acting as a consultant to his client in a property exchange. The State Bar alleges that Craven received $200,000 in April 2015, transferring half to a title company on his client's behalf and misappropriating the other half for his own purposes. He then solicited another $100,000 from the client, falsely telling him it was needed to verify net worth for the real estate transaction.

The State Bar posts consumer alerts online when lawyers are charged with misappropriating $25,000 or more from their clients. Anyone who believes they have been the victim of attorney misconduct is urged to file a complaint with the State Bar.

Some suggested practices and potential red flags that attorneys should be aware of when holding money for clients or third parties are in this recent article published by the State Bar.

Note: The filing of disciplinary charges by the State Bar does not constitute a finding of professional misconduct. Attorney discipline charges are adjudicated in State Bar Court. The California Supreme Court has final authority over all disbarments and suspensions.

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The State Bar of California is an administrative arm of the California Supreme Court, protecting the public and seeking to improve the justice system since 1927. All lawyers practicing law in California must be admitted to the State Bar.