Yesterday my Mediation Clinic students spent the day in the down and dirty world of mediation ethics and we discussed the stomach turning case of a local mediator / con-man, Gary Karpin.  Regular readers of this blog will remember my posts about this guy from the fall after he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail for theft and fraud.  Since we just discussed his case, I thought I’d mention it in this forum again just to make sure others are vigilant when it comes to con-men who use the confidentiality protections of the mediation process to swindle others.

Excerpts and links from my prior post are below the line.

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Gary Karpin, a disbarred Vermont lawyer, moved to Arizona and started a divorce mediation practice where he made a habit of preying on isolated, lonely, and vulnerable women.  His modus operendi was to strike up romantic relationships with them in order to swindle them out of lots of money.  In the most egregious instance a woman of modest means paid him nearly $88,000 for his “mediation” services. 

Karpin indirectly represented himself as a practicing lawyer, having his JD degree prominently displayed in his office, explaining various legal rules and procedures, and pretending to have close professional relationships with various family court judges.  Often he would act as the advocate for his women clients, and several men reported receiving letters and phone calls from him on behalf of their spouses. 

For more info on his case, check out these links:

To read the article that lead to his prosecution:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-01-27/news/dr-buzzard

Here’s a link to an article regarding his conviction:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/10/10/20081010karpin1010.html