L.a. lawyer
La Canada,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 06, 2011
As I understand, effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage.
All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law.
It sounds like you may have retained the services of this attorney (John Ribarich -- St. Bar # 183883) at or near the time the law prohibiting advance fees became effective. Either way, file a complaint with the State Bar of California.