Sean Nattagh
Complaint 141342 Details

*I responded to an ad for Sean Nattagh to provide Bankruptcy services in October of 2011. Initially I paid him $400. I have had some financial difficulty due to a bad real estate purchase in 2007. I was trying to pay my bills, and it just got out of control. I have an autistic daughter who has complex medical issues of which are not all covered by her medical insurance.
*Anyway, I got behind in my rent, and was given an eviction notice. While Mr. Nattagh appeared to take care of my eviction by submitting a demure, he didn't follow through with filing bankruptcy. However, he requested an additional $600 to take care of the eviction.
*Then, he informed me that I didn't have to attend my eviction court date which was 12/27/2011.
*On Dec. 30, 2012 Mr. Nattagh requested another $1006 so I wouldn't have my drivers license suspended. He stated it would be suspended if I didn't provide this money. I got no receipt of payment from Mr. Nattagh or the Sheriff's Office for this.
*I didn't hear from Mr. Nattagh for a very long time. I was getting threatening calls from creditors. I tried calling Mr. Nattagh multiple times, but every time I attempted to call him there was a recording stating his mailbox was full. I physically went to the office where I initially met with him, and the staff in the lobby stated he had moved out. He left no forwarding address, but I was able to get a phone number (949-295-7008). I called him for several days to inquire about the status of my bankruptcy filing. I was finally able to get through to him. He asked me to send all notices I had received from my creditors. He gave me a P.O. Box address. I copied all of my information and sent it to the P.O. Box. Approximately three weeks later, the manilla envelope came back to me, stating unknown address, return to sender. I called Sean again and again. There was no communication from him at all. I left several messages, and there were was no response.
*Early May, I finally got through to Mr. Nattagh. He stated to keep May 16, 2012 open for a potential court date. I never received any formal documentation or paperwork to sign which I was told by a friend would be what to expect prior to the official court date. After speaking to an official attorney, I was told I would have received a certified letter announcing the court date. I didn't even receive a phone call from Mr. Nattagh, so I didn't show up.
*On June 6, 2012 I received a certified letter from the sheriff's department stating my wages would be garnished effective June 29, 2012. I called Sean about this, and asked if he had filed my bankruptcy. He gave me no response, and stated because I didn't show up for my court date May 16, 2012 I would have to start the process over.
*I faxed the wage garnishment notice to Mr Nattagh June 6, 2012. He reassured me he would take care of everything. *Two weeks later, he requested another $1,000, and stated he would make sure my wages weren't garnished. Somehow I kept believing him. He didn't do anything.
*When I went to the bank to pay my bills, June 29, 2012, I discovered $1856.91 was in fact taken out of my paycheck. I called Mr. Nattagh right away. He stated he was at the airport and leaving for United Arab Emirates in fifteen minutes. I really didn't know what to say to him at that time. I was so mad. He kept reassuring me he would take care of everything. He told me he would be home in two weeks and wanted to take care of it then. Fifteen minutes he called back to say his plane was delayed and that he wanted to know the phone number of the person to call at the sheriff's office. I supplied him with the phone number, and then tried calling him back fifteen minutes later. His phone was dead, meaning he had already left for the united Arab Emirates.
*On July 10, 2012 I went to the Laguna Hills Sheriff's Office to research if anything had been done regarding my wage garnishment and whether bankruptcy had been filed. They sent me to the Newport Beach Office. When I got there, they informed me I had to go to the Santa Ana office. The clerk at the Santa Ana Office stated that there was no bankruptcy file number so that's why my wages were garnished. No number was ever given to the sheriff's office. So, I immediately tried calling Mr. Nattagh to inquire about why no bankruptcy was ever submitted.
*He finally returned my call 7-11-2012, but he stated he couldn't return from the United Arab Emirates until July 27, 2012. However, the phone call I received a call from him was from 714 area code. The number was 714-426-1081 which I later found out to be a Costa mesa number. He asked me what I was doing about my case? He stated my wages wouldn't have been garnished if I didn't keep my money in my bank account, not knowing that wages are garnished before the checks are even processed. He told me he wanted to work on my case. It should be noted that throughout his conversation he whispered, and stated he really shouldn't be calling from this number.
*On July 16, 2012 I went to the Irvine Police station to report an incident of fraud. After telling M. Atiyeh, an Irvine, CA police officer the events that happened, she stated that I should handle this case in a civil court such as the Small Claims Court. She stated there had to be evidence that he intended to commit fraud. I left very disillusioned.
*7/16/2012 I went to the Small Claims Court on the way home and got the necessary paperwork to complete. The application stated I had to communicate with Mr. Nattagh to try to resolve this matter in person, in writing, or by phone. I chose to write a letter summarizing the events since October 2011. I mailed him a certified letter on 7/21/2012. *I informed Mr. Nattagh that I would accept a complete refund of what I had paid plus the wages that were garnished. In addition I requested an additional amount of money for the time lost due to the bankruptcy not being filed in a timely manner. I stated I would accept payment by August 1, 2012 or I would have to submit this to the Small Claims Court as well as file a complaint with the United States Trustee Office.
*On Monday July 30, 2012 I received a phone call from M. Atiyeh, an Irvine, CA. police officer who I spoke with initially about this case. She stated that the police detective wanted to go ahead with possibly prosecuting Mr. Nattagh because several other victims filed complaints to the police department. She requested any documents and proof of payment for his services to be provided to her. Instead of faxing the documents, I delivered the information in person. She was at lunch when I got there.
*So, I called her 7/31/2012. She informed me there were at least five other victims of fraud, and that the information was being submitted to the D.A.'s office. She also stated that Mr. Nattagh hasn't been doing bankruptcy work since 2011. He never informed me that he no longer was allowed to provide bankruptcy services. That's what I hired him for.
*Since 7/30/2012 I have received multiple phone calls from Mr. Nattagh, but with no messages. He has put me in a very bad situation financially. He never disclosed that he could no longer provide this service. I went to him for bankruptcy filing, and now have to begin the process over again. I am out almost $5,000 which was my summer money. I am a teacher who gets paid ten months per year. I now have to come up with more money to hire a bonafide attorney to perform this service which by the way doesn't take nine months.