Attorney Pleads Guilty to Forgery Counts : Judge Is Told That Defendant Suffered More Than the Two Victims

Irvine attorney David Warren pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of forgery in connection with a deal in which prosecutors say he defrauded two separate clients who trusted him with their financial affairs.

But Warren’s attorney claims that his client has suffered more than the victims and that the judge should consider Warren’s plight when he appears for sentencing on March 15.

Warren, 42, not only faces a possible jail sentence but he lost his license to practice law and $40,000 of his own money in the incident.

“Mr. Warren made some dumb mistakes, but he operated in good faith,” said his attorney, Paul S. Meyer.

But prosecutors say Warren tried to pull a fast one on both his clients.

In early 1984, a client of Warren’s, a developer from Mammoth Lakes named William C. Taylor, asked the lawyer if he knew anyone who could loan him $28,000. Taylor needed the money to cover a balloon-mortgage payment on his house.

Warren contacted another client, a retired dentist from Corona del Mar named Joseph R. Drummond, who had money to invest. Warren, however, told Drummond he needed $40,000--not $28,000.

When Drummond sent his $40,000 check, Warren sent Taylor the $28,000 he needed but put $12,000 into his own account. Taylor was supposed to make payments on the $28,000 loan to Warren, who would then pass the money, with interest, onto Drummond.

Prosecutors claim it was a way for Warren to get hold of $12,000 ready cash for himself. They produced bank records to show he spent much of the money. But Warren’s attorney said Warren was just trying to make things easier for everybody. When it came time for Drummond to receive interest on the loan, Warren would then dip into his own pocket to pay the interest for Taylor, Warren’s attorney said. The purpose of the $12,000, he said, was to cover interest payments.

But the following year, Warren got behind on payments to Drummond. Drummond was also getting impatient because Warren had not followed through on his promise to send him any securities from the person who borrowed the money.

That’s when Warren allegedly forged Taylor’s name to false deeds and a false promissory note to give Drummond in Corona del Mar. When payments fell further behind, Drummond saw Taylor’s name on the securities and decided to call Taylor on his own.

When questioned by Drummond, Taylor said he knew nothing of the securities or the $40,000.

It was Taylor who went to the police. Warren’s attorney claims that Taylor did so only after Warren sued him to recover the $28,000. Warren’s attorney asserts that Taylor didn’t make any payments.

Nevertheless, it was after police began investigating that Warren decided to send the other $12,000 he had been holding.

Warren’s attorney says that his client did it to show good faith. Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans says that Warren did it because he was feeling the heat from the police.

But Warren’s attorney says when Warren realized what a mess everything was in, he sent Drummond $40,000 of his own money to cover the dentist’s losses. Prosecutors’ contend he was trying to bail himself out of trouble with the law.

Warren also resigned from the California Bar Assn., after learning he was about to face a disciplinary hearing.

Drummond did get all his money back, although not with the 3 years’ worth of interest payments he had hoped for. Taylor also got his loan. The only one who lost money was Warren, Meyer says. Warren, meanwhile, has filed a civil lawsuit to collect from Taylor the $40,000 of Drummond’s money he passed on to Taylor.

An issue now before Superior Court Judge Myron S. Brown in Santa Ana is whether Warren’s current charges should be felonies or misdemeanors. Prosecutor Evans claims that the crimes were serious enough to merit a felony conviction, which would make it extremely difficult for Warren ever to regain his license to practice law.

“You couldn’t have more vulnerable victims,” Evans said. “They trusted him as their lawyer; they hired him to (guard) their finances and he betrayed their trust.”