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More clients come forward as attorney faces investigation
Aaron Mesmer reports
TAMPA, Fla. - More former clients of a Tampa attorney are coming forward, claiming he owes them thousands of dollars after taking their money and abruptly closing his firm.
Leah Abdou is the latest person to reach out to FOX 13 about Dennis Szafran, who owned DJS Law Group, before shutting down last month. She said she reached out to Szafran following the death of her grandmother, Janice Abdou, who she said raised Leah and her sister in the family's home in Lehigh Acres, which is located in Lee County.
"She was the only person that really cared about us. She was a big part of our life. She provided everything," Leah said.
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Leah said her grandmother didn't leave a will before dying of cancer a year and a half ago, so Leah needed a probate attorney to help make sure the house remained in her family's name. That's how she ended up contacting Szafran.
She showed us receipts from the attorney totaling nearly $3,000 but said she paid him closer to $7,000. Leah, 25, was stunned when she found out Szafran closed his business while her case was still up in the air.
"I can't believe he did this," she said. "I wanted this house to be for family in case family needed it. That's why I was trying to save this house."
According to Leah, the bank is now foreclosing on her childhood home, and she no longer has the money to stop it.
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This story comes the same week the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office confirmed it's opened an investigation into Szafran after receiving several similar complaints from former clients. Many of them have stories similar to Leah's, in which they are in need of a probate attorney to help settle loved ones' estates.
Another mother told FOX 13 last week about hiring the lawyer to help her maintain guardianship of her disabled 18-year-old son.
The families who spoke with FOX 13 reported paying him between $3,000 and $4,000 in most cases, including Angia Papazion, who said she just found out this week that DJS Law Group had shut down. Some have requested their money back but have been told he won't be issuing refunds.
"My dad passed away back in October last year," said Papazian, who lives in Virginia and contacted Szafran, because she was trying to settle her father's home in Clay County.
Papazian said Szafran had even offered her a discount, because her father was a U.S. Navy veteran, something Szafran also claims to be on social media.
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"I'm thinking that this is a slap in my face when he said he's offering help for veterans," she said. "It made me feel like he disrespected our country in a way."
FOX 13 has tried several times to contact Szafran, including text messages that he appears to have read, but the attorney has not responded. A FOX 13 crew stopped by his house on Friday, and Szafran came to the door but slammed it in our reporter's face.
The Florida Bar Association is has also launched an investigation into Szafran. Former clients have created a Facebook group that currently has at least 30 members.