Las Vegas attorney disbarred over mortgage fraud scheme
The Nevada Supreme Court has disbarred a prominent Las Vegas attorney convicted in a mortgage fraud scheme.
Gerry Zobrist, 45, pleaded guilty in the scheme in 2013 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. He is serving 87 months in federal prison.
Zobrist consented to the permanent disbarment, according to a copy of the April 10 Supreme Court order.
Between 2006 and 2008, Zobrist and his accomplices paid straw buyers to purchase 144 homes in the valley, obtaining mortgage loans for more than $53 million, according to federal prosecutors.
Financial institutions lost more than $30 million in the scheme, authorities said.
Part of the sales proceeds went to real estate companies and other entities controlled by Zobrist and his accomplices, authorities said.
Zobrist, who was licensed to practice law in Nevada in 1999, was a substitute Las Vegas justice of the peace. In 2006 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Justice Court.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter @JGermanRJ
