Complaint Review: Pappas And Associates

Just an update..... As of July 27th 2011, Peter Pappas has STILL not refunded my $2500.00.  It would be my recommendation NOT to do business with this person until he chooses to do the right thing. In the event that he refunds my money.....I will retract this post and have it removed from "ripoff report." 



P.S. I learned that you can readily handle your own problems with the IRS and they are quite fair to work with.  Don't let the" fear factor" cloud your thinking.....you can probably solve your IRS issues without a lawyer! (just my opinion!)

This public exchange of information is hereby closed.......I was tipped off by one of your employees, but I had figured it out anyway!    Good try Peter! 

I understand your position regarding battling an unscrupulous attorney. It can indeed be an expensive and exhausting endeavor, and I speak from experience.

But, unfortunately, your reluctance to pursue legal recourse leaves you in a "your word against his" situation. Mr. Pappas has set forth a viable, albeit cursory defense to your claims.

The long and short of it is that you are asserting that he has a moral obligation to refund your money; he's asserting that he earned his fee and that the failure to achieve the desired outcome was due to errors on your part; and no neutral party has been given the opportunity to fully review both sides of this debacle and determine whether you are in fact entitled to a refund.

On a side note, did Mr. Pappas ever get anywhere with his defamation claim?

Best regards!

Tim,  Thankyou for your well thought out advice......but have you ever hired an attorney to defend you from an unscrupulous attorney?  It rarely works out well and can be quite frustrating and expensive.  I value my sleep too much to undertake such an endeavor!  The money is not necessarily the issue, sometimes you just want to see someone in a position that should require some level of honesty, do the right thing!  Getting my $2500.00 back by court order just wouldn't give the same amount of satisfaction. 

If you feel that he owes you a refund, why didn't you counter-sue him in his breach of contract claim against you? Why haven't you filed your own lawsuit? Did you even look into fee arbitration with the state bar? It almost seems like you prefer complaining about his failure to voluntarily refund your money over actually getting your money.

You may well be entitled to a refund. But, if I understand the report and updates correctly, this is a possible moral entitlement and not a legal requirement. So I question the logic and motivation behind the actions you have taken and the actions you haven't taken.

Also, you referred to his first rebuttal as an illegal breach of the attorney-client privilege. Actually, it is perfectly acceptable for him to reveal information that is necessary to defend himself against a complaint lodged in a public forum. You stated that he didn't do any work for you, and thereby waived your right to claim privilege over the tasks that were performed (to the extent necessary to defend himself). You also assserted that he over-stated what he could do for you, thereby permitting him to explain that his statements were premised in erroneous information provided by you.

On the flip side, this is an area of the law that is riddled with attorneys who at least routinely imply that they can achieve results that are rarely obtained and are available only in limited circumstances. So I'm not saying that you weren't ripped off (not saying you were, either), just taking issue with your methods.

Best regards!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that as of March 11th 2010 "Peter Pappas" has STILL NOT refunded my money ($2500.00)  When, or if, he chooses to do the right thing, I will let you know and have this post removed. Until then, please continue to avoid this guy like the plague!

Just an update to let all know that Peter Pappas has yet to return my money that he failed to earn. I will let you know when and/or if he decides to do the right thing!!

Just an update to let all know that Peter Pappas has yet to return my money that he failed to earn. I will let you know when and/or if he decides to do the right thing!!

Just an update to let all know that Peter Pappas has yet to return my money that he failed to earn. I will let you know when and/or if he decides to do the right thing!!

Just an update to let all know that Peter Pappas has yet to return my money that he failed to earn. I will let you know when and/or if he decides to do the right thing!!

Needless to say, Peter never showed up for either court date! (He had both cases dismissed!) He DID however, show up for the hearing, from which he was asked to leave the room for five minutes to see if he could control his temper as he was so frustrated and unprepared that the Court Mediator thought he was going to have a stroke!

BOTTOM LINE: Would YOU like to hire an "attorney" that would break the law of "Client/Attorney Privilege" and post private information about YOU on the internet? Not to mention the many outright lies he posted that don't even warrant my addressing. "Peter's" time obviously isn't all that important, but mine is!

Whatever his response is to this posting......trust me.....DON'T believe it!!! This guy should be running for President! He'll say anything! Enough said.....lesson well learned!

P.S. He still owes me MY $2500. and I will continue to file complaints against him with the BBB, Florida Bar, etc.....until he returns MY money that he DIDN'T earn!!!

Judge Judy Clark set the breach of contract case of Pappas & Associates, P.A. versus Scott A. McCord for trial at a pre-trial conference today in small claims court. The trial is scheduled for March 27, 2008 at 1:30 in the Courtroom 370 of the Orange County, Florida courthouse.

Pappas will have three witnesses testifying on his firm's behalf. McCord will testify on his own behalf.

I will keep you posted on the outcome of this case and on the progress of the libel suit Pappas & Associates, P.A. has currently pending against Mr. McCord for libelous and defamatory comments published on this and other internet sites.

Stop Lying about Me and My Firm . . . .

The reason the dollar amounts and situations are similar is: THAT'S THE AMOUNT YOU CHARGE! (duhhh!) Obviously I'm not the first one that has paid you $2500.00 for NOTHING! Word to the wise: (and like me, NOT so wise:) Don't take "PETER" up on his "free" offer..... most lawyers have "free" consultations, this one will more than likely NOT be "free"....in the long run!

P.S. Don't you have something better to do?

P.S.S. We will be picketing, contacting the media, and sending out notices soon, as is our RIGHT!

PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE AT PAPPASTAX.COM FOR THE FULL FACTS OF THIS UNFORTUNATE CASE.

Scott McCord posted the update to his own report to make it appear that there are several people complaining about Pappas & Associates.

Note that the facts and circumstances and the amounts of money involved are identical to those in McCord's original statement. This isn't even a good fraud.

For the third time, I invite Mr. McCord to bring his lawyer and sit down with me. I will show them my entire file and his attorney will explain to Mr. McCord that we did the work for which we were hired.

I also invite anyone needing a tax lawyer to mention this website and I will give them a free consultation AND show them the work I did for McCord that evidences that his charges against me are patently false. Judge for yourselves. If, after seeing the work I did for McCord, you side with him, I will handle your case free of charge.

Mr. McCord should have accepted my offer to have a lawyer of his choosing sit with me and go over his entire file, but instead, he mean-spiritedly decided to besmirch my good name.

I have been a practicing CPA for over 25 years and a practicing attorney for over 17 years and have never been admonished, reprimanded or sanctioned in any way. I have also never been sued for malpractice.

PRINT OUT THIS REPORT AND BRING IT TO MY OFFICE AND YOU GET A FREE CONSULTATION AND NO OBLIGATION TO HIRE ME WHATSOEVER.

I had a very similar experience, he must make a habit of doing this to people! He used the same line with me,about having close ties with the IRS guys in Jacksonvilleand convinced me he could have my lien lifted within a month. A year later he gave up and sent me a letter saying the case was closed and that I no longer owed him for an additional $1000.00 (that his people were billing me for.)

I asked for my $2500.00 back, he had me served notifying me that he was going back on his word and billing me for the extra $1000,00 after all. And THEN he had me served AGAIN a few days later saying he was suing me for ONE MILLION dollars for libel, because I told him I was going to report him to the BBB, Florida Bar and to Ripoff report. Nice guy huh? I trust him, and hire him to protect my rights..he puts me on the back burner for over a year, and then HE SUES ME because I attempt to do the right thing and keep others from falling into his "web!" (We are still living in America aren't we?) Does anyone remember the original reason we came here in the first place?? (Hint: It has to do with taxes and lawyers!!!)

PS I know what you are going through Joe..... try taking a look at the public records available on the Orange County website. It appears that Mr. Peter Pappas makes it a habit to sue those who come into his office for legal help!

PSS If it is considered Libel to report a lawyer for doing this to innocent people in desparate need of ethical legal representation...then I'm PROUD to be accused of Libel!

I had a very similar experience, he must make a habit of doing this to people! He used the same line with me,about having close ties with the IRS guys in Jacksonvilleand convinced me he could have my lien lifted within a month. A year later he gave up and sent me a letter saying the case was closed and that I no longer owed him for an additional $1000.00 (that his people were billing me for.)

I asked for my $2500.00 back, he had me served notifying me that he was going back on his word and billing me for the extra $1000,00 after all. And THEN he had me served AGAIN a few days later saying he was suing me for ONE MILLION dollars for libel, because I told him I was going to report him to the BBB, Florida Bar and to Ripoff report. Nice guy huh? I trust him, and hire him to protect my rights..he puts me on the back burner for over a year, and then HE SUES ME because I attempt to do the right thing and keep others from falling into his "web!" (We are still living in America aren't we?) Does anyone remember the original reason we came here in the first place?? (Hint: It has to do with taxes and lawyers!!!)

PS I know what you are going through Joe..... try taking a look at the public records available on the Orange County website. It appears that Mr. Peter Pappas makes it a habit to sue those who come into his office for legal help!

PSS If it is considered Libel to report a lawyer for doing this to innocent people in desparate need of ethical legal representation...then I'm PROUD to be accused of Libel!

I had a very similar experience, he must make a habit of doing this to people! He used the same line with me,about having close ties with the IRS guys in Jacksonvilleand convinced me he could have my lien lifted within a month. A year later he gave up and sent me a letter saying the case was closed and that I no longer owed him for an additional $1000.00 (that his people were billing me for.)

I asked for my $2500.00 back, he had me served notifying me that he was going back on his word and billing me for the extra $1000,00 after all. And THEN he had me served AGAIN a few days later saying he was suing me for ONE MILLION dollars for libel, because I told him I was going to report him to the BBB, Florida Bar and to Ripoff report. Nice guy huh? I trust him, and hire him to protect my rights..he puts me on the back burner for over a year, and then HE SUES ME because I attempt to do the right thing and keep others from falling into his "web!" (We are still living in America aren't we?) Does anyone remember the original reason we came here in the first place?? (Hint: It has to do with taxes and lawyers!!!)

PS I know what you are going through Joe..... try taking a look at the public records available on the Orange County website. It appears that Mr. Peter Pappas makes it a habit to sue those who come into his office for legal help!

PSS If it is considered Libel to report a lawyer for doing this to innocent people in desparate need of ethical legal representation...then I'm PROUD to be accused of Libel!

I had a very similar experience, he must make a habit of doing this to people! He used the same line with me,about having close ties with the IRS guys in Jacksonvilleand convinced me he could have my lien lifted within a month. A year later he gave up and sent me a letter saying the case was closed and that I no longer owed him for an additional $1000.00 (that his people were billing me for.)

I asked for my $2500.00 back, he had me served notifying me that he was going back on his word and billing me for the extra $1000,00 after all. And THEN he had me served AGAIN a few days later saying he was suing me for ONE MILLION dollars for libel, because I told him I was going to report him to the BBB, Florida Bar and to Ripoff report. Nice guy huh? I trust him, and hire him to protect my rights..he puts me on the back burner for over a year, and then HE SUES ME because I attempt to do the right thing and keep others from falling into his "web!" (We are still living in America aren't we?) Does anyone remember the original reason we came here in the first place?? (Hint: It has to do with taxes and lawyers!!!)

PS I know what you are going through Joe..... try taking a look at the public records available on the Orange County website. It appears that Mr. Peter Pappas makes it a habit to sue those who come into his office for legal help!

PSS If it is considered Libel to report a lawyer for doing this to innocent people in desparate need of ethical legal representation...then I'm PROUD to be accused of Libel!

The following is the Rebuttal of Pappas & Associates, P.A. and Peter C. Pappas to charges made by Scott A. McCord published on this website and dated January 29, 2008:

1. Pappas & Associates, P.A. has filed a lawsuit against Scott A. McCord for failure to pay legal fees for legal services rendered by the firm.

2. In addition, as a result of a false, slanderous and defamatory report made on this website by Scott A. McCord, Pappas & Associates, P.A. has filed a $1,000,000.00 libel suit against him in the Circuit Court of the Ninth District, Orange County Florida.

3. The lawsuit states, among other things, that Scott McCord lied in his Ripoff Report by alleging that Pappas & Associates, P.A. lied to him about the services they would render.

4. Pappas & Associates and Peter C. Pappas, Esquire prepared and filed an application for discharge of federal tax lien together with a request for an installment payment agreement shortly after they were hired by Mr. McCord to represent him.

5. Because the value of Mr. McCord's house was not what he originally told Pappas it was, the ability to get the lien discharged was adversely affected. I

6. In addition, Mr. McCord demaned that the IRS allow him to keep a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale of his house. This fact, too, was not disclosed to Pappas originally and it's existence adversely affected Pappas' ability to obtain the lien discharge.

7. In an email sent to Mr. Pappas on January 22, 2008, Mr. McCord threatened to defame Mr. Pappas' name and good reputation if he failed to pay Mr. McCord $2,500.00.

8. Mr. Pappas responded by telling Mr. McCord that his actions were in violation of Florida state extortion laws (it is illegal in Florida to threaten to defame someone in order to gain an economic advantage).

9. In that email, Mr. Pappas offered to sit down with McCord and/or his attorney and show them the work he did on his behalf and explain why the result Mr. McCord had hoped for was not obtained.

10. Mr. McCord declined this reasonable offer and instead published his slanderous and defamatory report about Pappas on this website.

Mr. McCord is not a credible individual. He has a history of failing to comply with the law. First, by failing to file his tax returns when due and failing to pay his taxes. Second, by making threats to attempt to destroy the reputation of someone who tried his best to help him with his problems.

Mr. McCord was going through a bitter divorce at the time he hired Mr. Pappas; he was unemployed because of serious health problems. We believe that Mr. McCord is (understandably) frustrated with his life and has, unfortunately (and immaturely) chosen to take it out on his attorney.

Finally, Pappas & Associates, P.A. and Peter C. Pappas are attorneys and Certified Public Accountants. The practice is about 70% tax representation and 30% other work including immigration. Pappas & Associates, P.A. represents individuals who seek to comply with immigration law and legally immigrate to the United States.