The California Supreme Court building in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
This story was originally published by LAist.
The email was urgent and alarming.
The message appeared to come from the L.A. Field Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It said Patty Lui’s toy business in downtown L.A. was under federal investigation, and she had 24 hours to contact the agency — “whether individually or by legal representative on your behalf.”
Text of a fabricated email Zargarof used to convince his client to send $10,000 to defend against nonexistent investigation. (State Bar of California court filings)
By the time Lui suspected something was wrong, she said she’d paid her attorney, Ronen Zargarof, tens of thousands of dollars. According to findings from the California State Bar, Zargarof charged Lui for a number of “fictitious services.”
Zargarof’s license is currently suspended, according to State Bar records. In October, more than three years after the email about the fake ICE investigation, the State Bar Court recommended Zargarof be disbarred. They found that Zargarof, who was already working for Lui on another matter, knew the purported ICE email was fake. There was no urgent ICE investigation.
Lui told LAist that when she ended up sending Zargarof about $90,000.
“I was really rushing it and I really believed in what he said,” Lui told LAist.
Zargarof did not cooperate with the State Bar’s investigation into his dealings with Lui, who ultimately complained to the bar, or contest the charges set forth in the accusation filed by the bar against him, court documents show. The California Supreme Court still has to rule on whether Zargarof will be disbarred.
Zargarof has not responded to LAist's requests for comment on this story. According to civil court filings, he also ignored multiple orders to provide discovery materials in his case.
The documents show that Zargarof’s defense lawyers argued in February 2021 that he was unable to attend a deposition because he was out of state with no estimated return date. The lawyers then filed to leave the case in April, shortly after Zargarof was ordered by the court to attend a deposition the following month. Zargarof did not attend the deposition, court records state, and the court ruled against him in a default judgement.
How to protect yourself
George Cardona, chief trial counsel of the State Bar of California, said people navigating immigration law are especially vulnerable to misconduct and misrepresentation.
The State Bar files charges against 100 to 200 attorneys each year, Cardona said. Those charges can lead to disciplinary actions like suspension, disbarment or fines.
“ Of the cases we file, a fair number involve misappropriations of funds or misrepresentations,” Cardona told LAist. “We have had other cases, particularly in immigration context, involving fabricated documents.”
As federal immigration cases have ramped up this year with the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies, there may be even more risk.
Cardona recommends anyone needing a lawyer to look into the attorney you plan to hire before trusting them to represent you in court.
A search of court records in late 2021, when Lui first hired Zargarof, could have turned up a judgment against him for more than $170,000. According to court filings, Zagarof was ordered to pay damages of $76,500 for breach of contract and $48,500 for “tort causes,” including battery, assault, domestic violence, negligence and infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff is listed as a “Jane Doe.”
“The Court finds Defendant's conduct was willful, wanton, oppressive and malicious,” the order states.
When it comes to keeping yourself safe from fraud, Cardona said, the first thing you should do is search for a lawyer on the State Bar of California's webpage before deciding whether to hire them.
“ First, it can confirm that they're a lawyer, and second, it will show if they have any disciplinary history,” he said.
Cardona said people posing as lawyers is especially prevalent in immigration cases.
After checking whether a lawyer is licensed or has a history of disciplinary actions, he said you should look online for reviews or check with friends who may have an attorney they know first-hand.
The lawyer will be acting on your behalf, Cardona said, “ so it's important to have someone you can trust.”
A cautionary tale
Lui initially hired Zargarof to handle a separate, civil employment case in November 2021.
She told LAist that she never met Zargarof in person. November is a particularly busy time for her business making and selling teddy bears, Lui said, and for a few weeks it seemed Zargarof was on top of the case.
“ He was always telling me that he just came out from the court and this is what I need,” Lui said, “I need to pay and pay and pay.”
Zargarof began asking for more money to cover various fees, she said, pushing her to quickly send him money.
“ I’d have to rush to send him a wire,” Lui told LAist. “I was so nervous.”
According to the State Bar’s findings, some of Zargarof’s fees were for “fictitious services,” including $2,500 to have her daughter dismissed from the civil case against Lui, and $6,000 for proceedings before the “Labor Board of Los Angeles County.”
The State Bar noted in court documents that Lui’s daughter was never accused of any wrongdoing in the case, and that the “Labor Board of Los Angeles County” does not exist.
The bar described in court filings how Zargarof made up these scenarios to charge Lui fees for services he never provided.
Zargarof sent text messages to Lui, which were quoted in court filings and provided more information on the investigation.
“There were two search warrant[s] . . . for your computers and files. We are dismissing those today,” Zargarof messaged Lui.
Zargarof said that he knew an “immigration experts partner,” named Tracey Pierantoni, and directed Lui to pay $10,000 into Pierantoni’s bank account.
“They are going to charge a flat rate of 5 [thousand] per file = 10k so I think it will be cheaper for you to wire them before 130 today instead of putting it on card,” said one message included in court documents.
There was no ICE investigation, according to the court documents, and Tracey Pierantoni Zargarof is not a licensed attorney in the state of California.
Court documents allege that Pierantoni Zargarof is one of several family members Zargarof used to accept payments from Lui.
Pierantoni Zargarof denies any involvement in the payments, and told LAist she intends to file charges against Zargarof for identity fraud.
“I have nothing to do with his criminal activity," Pierantoni Zargarof said when asked for comment. She added that she hasn't seen him in two or three years and doesn't know where he is or how to reach him.
Details from the State Bar Complaint
While Lui was trying to keep up with her business and pay Zargarof’s fees, court records document that Zargarof ran up a $25,000 bill on Lui’s credit card to pay for a hotel stay at the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Santa Barbara.
Zargarof told Lui he was using the card to hire private investigators for her case, she told LAist. Once she learned that wasn’t true she went to her bank with a fraud claim.
She also made a complaint to the State Bar of California in August 2022, which led to disciplinary charges against Zargarof in April 2025.
Lui said her bank was able to return the money that was charged to her card, but she hasn't been able to recover tens of thousands of additional payments that the State Bar found were for "fictitious services.”
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