James Toner Attorney ripoff! He took my escrow money and would not return it then laughed. Mineola New York

Dear Ripoff Report and Christopher Kinsley,

            Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint and set the record straight.

            This was a real estate transaction for the sale of a cooperative apartment. I represented the Seller and Christopher Kinsley (Chris Long Beach, New York U.S.A.) was the purchaser. The sales price of the unit was contracted at $81,000 and the down payment on the contract was $8,100. The contract was signed by the parties including Mr. Kinsley on December 12, 2002. In accordance with the terms of the contract, the closing was to take place on December 30, 2002. Despite my best efforts to schedule a “Time of the essence” closing with Purchaser’s attorney, I was unsuccessful. The terms of the contract stipulated that in the event of a breach, the down payment would be paid as liquidated damages to the Seller.

            The Seller was desperate to sell their property as they were in danger of losing it in foreclosure. We tried in vain to contact Purchaser through his attorney and were given three separate misrepresentations of fact: 1. He had contact with his client, 2. His client was hospitalized and 3. Mr. Kinsley “may have lost his job and his financial circumstances had changed.” These excuses were neither true nor legally recognizable reasons to accuse Mr. Kinsley of his obligations under the contract. The real and undisclosed reason, was Christopher Kinsley was going to Prison.

            Just three months before signing the contract, he was indicted, by a New York Grand Jury, on a 52 count indictment.  (NYC Indictment # 5278/02) Unsealed on September 12, 2002, the indictment charged Christopher Kinsley and four other stock brokers at Mason Hill    with “enterprise corruption” for defrauding stock investors for over one million dollars. On January 30, 2003, Mr. Kinsley pled guilty to two felonies in satisfaction of the indictment. Mr. Kinsley admitted he “intentionally conducted and participated in illegal schemes to manipulate the offering and market price of initial public offerings of various securities.” He further admitted he “made illegal profits by depositing IPO stock in nominee accounts, manipulated stock prices of the IPO stock and then… selling IPO stock to unsuspecting investors.” According to the stenographic minutes of Kinsley’s plea, he accepted 2-6 years in prison as a consequence. This was at the very time his lawyer was giving me various excuses for his unresponsiveness. How was Kinsley planning on closing the real estate purchase when he agreed to accept two years in prison? The answer is: He had no intention of closing the deal. However, he never disclosed this fact to the Sellers, who were growing increasingly more desperate each day that Seller ignored their pleas to close.

            On February 28, 2003 after numerous calls and certified correspondences to Mr. Kinsley’s attorney. Seller, upon written notice to Purchaser’s attorney in accordance with signed contract, treated the contract as breached and demanded the down payment in according to the terms of the contract. While the Seller received the $8,100 down payment as damages, their actual damages were over $20,000, as the property ultimately sold in a declining market for just $61,000.  

            On April 25, 2003 Kinsley was sentenced to 21-42 months in state prison. After the passage of two years and completing his jail sentence, Mr. Kinsley commenced a relentless campaign of revenge on me. He began by filing a false criminal complaint with the Nassau County District Attorney and the New York State Attorney General Office alleging the very same charges contained in his indictment:

Grand Larceny in 3^rd Degree

Conspiracy in 1^st Degree

Falsifying Businessrecod in the 1^st Degree

Enterprise Corruption in the 1^st Degree

Criminal Misconduct in the 1^st Degree

            Mr. Kinsley’s spurious allegations were rejected by law enforcement. Perhaps they saw the remarkable similarity to his very own indicted charges. Both the Nassau County District Attorney and the Attorney General rejected Mr. Kinsely’s false allegations against me.

            Unsuccessful in his attempt to have me arrested, Kinsley then filed a complaint with the Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial Department.  His real estate attorney participated in that complaint. Unfortunately, neither Mr. Kinsley nor his attorney felt it necessary to inform the Grievance committee that Mr. Kinsley had pled guilty to a felony while the contract was in effect and that he could not complete the purchase due to his impending prison sentence. The grievance committee never learned the extent to which Kinsley lied and manipulated them in an attempt to have me disciplined. I was not aware of Mr. Kinsley’s conviction and sentence until much later when he sued my office in Long Beach. As a result of the Complaint with the Grievance Committee, I spent thousands of dollars on counsel fees, had my escrow account audited, and spent many hours gathering submissions for my attorney. The real estate deal was closely scrutinized by the grievance committee from top to bottom. After a thorough review of the transaction and all supporting documents, the grievance committee dismissed the complaint against me without taking any disciplinary action.

            Having now failed to have me arrested and disbarred, Kinsley then filed a civil law suite against me in the Long Beach City Court. It was during the preparation for trial that I learned of Mr. Kinsley’s criminal record. In addition to his having plead guilty to two felonies in conjunction with above charges, Mr. Kinsley was on probation for having been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated. The trial took place before the Hon. Stanley A.  Smolkin of the Long Beach City Court.  At the conclusion of the trial, Judge Smolkin rendered a verdict against Mr. Kinsley ruling that Kinsley breached the contract when he failed complete the purchase. He further ruled Kinsley did not act in good faith because of his acceptance of jail time during the pendency of the contract. After the verdict was read, Mr. Kinsley became very distraught and begged the court to change his mind, admitting in open court that he had “a lot of problems.”

            Having unsuccessfully filed; criminal charges with two separate state agencies, a complaint with the Grievance Committee and an unsuccessful Civil Law lawsuit against me, Kinsley’s was running out of options. In a final desperate gesture to get even, he lodged this wholly false and misleading complaint with the Rip off report in an attempt to damage my reputation.

                        In conclusion, Mr. Kinsley’s charges were held to be false by a court of law.  No one “stole” his down payment as he accused. Instead, it has been conclusively determined that he breached the contract when he failed to complete the purchase.  The down payment was duly demanded and recovered by the Seller as “liquidated damages” under the terms and conditions of the contract. There was no theft, no Rip-off and no substantiation to this individual, “with problems”, allegations. The only crimes here are the ones committed by Mr. Kinsley himself when he defrauded unsuspecting investors and when he drove while intoxicated.   He has come after me, a lawyer whose only sin here, was to defend his client’s rights against a deceitful and dishonest adversary. I have worked tirelessly for the last twenty or so years fighting for my clients and have held myself to the highest standards of professional conduct. The living I earn provides for my wife and children. Mr. Kinsley thought he could exact a sum of money, if he filed enough false complaints, court actions and Ripoff-report-type-extortions against me. He was wrong.

                        Again, thank you for the opportunity to respond to these patently false statements against me by this convicted felon.  And while I understand the importance of Rip-off –Report-type-websites, it is equally important for you to understand not everyone who complains, does so honestly. And not every Rip off is what it purports to be.

                        As for you, Mr. Kinsley, I want you to know that I derive no joy out of making this response. I have waited a very long time to do it. But you have gone to far. You have lied and wronged me. I have never in my life committed acts even remotely resembling those that you stand convicted of. We are different people. I am a law-abiding citizen who believes in hard work.  You however are a convicted criminal who has preyed on unsuspecting investors who believed that your advice could deliver them better life. They trusted you and you deceived them for your own personal gain. Your actions and complaints against me are both disingenuous and unwarranted. I don’t understand why you came after me or the manner in which you chose to do so, but I want you to know I am  a stronger person for it.  I have spent more money on attorneys defending my actions than your down payment. Does that make you feel satisfied?  Did you think I would settle a claim against my integrity for any amount of money?

            Finally, I believe that people when committed can make lasting and positive changes in their lives. I ask only, that you, Mr. Kinsley take a moment of solitude and sobriety to ponder both your actions on the contract and the wrongful actions you have taken toward me and consider removing this post. It is never too late for redemtion. I will respond in kind. I think it is time we both closed this book.

                                                Very respectfully submitted,

                                                James E. Toner, Esq.

All the informatio provided above is the truth and is supported by documentation. I have maintained a copy of this file and every document that I have referred to in this rebuttal.  A digital copy may be obtained by request by visiting my website at  www.tonerlawfirm.com.  In addition you may obtain additional information on Christopher Kinsley by searching his name along with Mason Hill on Google or on the New York State - Attorney General website.

Depending on the amount of money involved, you might be able to talk him to small claims court. I often find that some people need an incentive to pay back money the owe. I don't mess around with send out lots of demand letters. I send one letter and file suit if theuy don't pay or negotiate.

I once was contacted by a lawyer from Northern California to help him with a case in San Diego. I did tbe work and he didn't pay me. It was only a few hundred dollars, but I earned the mone. I sued him and had a check within days of him being served with the lawsuit.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT. YES I DID REPORT HIM TO THE BAR ASSOCIATION GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE.

ALSO I ASKED TO FILE CRIMINAL CHARGES WITH THE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND ELLIOT SPITZER THE NY STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

BUT, IN ALL THE COMPLAINTS AND PRESSING FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES, I WAS DEALING WITH ATTORNEYS(BAR ASSOC, DA AND AG) SO THESE GUYS DON'T GO AFTER OTHER LAWYERS.

THE NASSAU DA REFERRED TO THIS THEFT AS POTENTIAL "MISCONDUCT".

HOW COME WHEN A LAWYER STEALS IT'S MISCONDUST AND WHEN OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT LAWYERS DO SOMETHING IT IS A CRIME?

WE NEED MORE BOARDS LIKE THIS TO POST ON.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THE LITTLE GUY CAN VOICE HIS OPINION

Send copies of the letters from your attorneys and any other correspondence you may have to the NY Bar Association and request that they investigate. Good luck.