Updated 3:39 p.m.
A Washington attorney has been accused of a bilking a client out of $50,000 in a development scheme, according to a civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Oct. 13.
Attorney Mark Lezell of Lezell Law is accused of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations, breach of contract, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and fraud/intentional misrepresentation, according to the complaint. The suit also named Isam Ghosh as a codefendant.
The plaintiff, Ying Qing “Lucy” Lu, is seeking $225,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages, which includes attorney fees.
According to the complaint, Ghosh was set to receive a large fee related to the sale of a building in Ocean City, Md. but needed to borrow additional funds before his fee was to be paid. Lezell allegedly convinced Lu to deposit $50,000 into an escrow account and then refused to return the funds.
“Mr. Lezell denies all the allegations in the complaint, and he will be filing a motion with the court to dismiss the complaint,” said Peter Goldman, Lezell’s attorney.
A call to Lu’s attorney, Randy McRae, was not returned. Ghosh could not be reached.
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