O.C. lawyer convicted of having sex with minor is facing disbarment
A Costa Mesa lawyer suspended from practicing because of a conviction for having sex with a minor could be disbarred for not returning more than $120,000 to clients, according to the State Bar of California.
James Mazi Parsa, 50, was ordered to stop practicing last week after a State Bar judge found he had abandoned 43 clients and didn’t return the fees they had paid him. Though the judge decided Parsa should be disbarred, the action isn’t final until approved by the California Supreme Court.
“Parsa accepted new clients and their fees even when he knew his license was about to be suspended in connection with the criminal conviction,” State Bar officials said in a news release.
Parsa was convicted in 2001 of two misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old. In 2009, bar officials gave him an interim suspension while they decided how to discipline him for the conviction. He ultimately received a two-year suspension of his law license in 2014.
As the interim suspension was about to take effect, Parsa abruptly closed his law practice in Costa Mesa, according to the State Bar. The office had about 100 employees who mostly handled loan modification cases for about 4,500 clients.
“He failed to notify his clients that he intended to withdraw and would not be pursuing their loan modification applications,” bar officials said.
In addition to the 43 clients, 1,130 people have filed complaints against Parsa, according to the bar.
Jeremiah Dobruck writes for Times Community News
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