Richard John Evans

I hired Mr. Richard Evans to assist to defend me in the event that I was to be sued by our lender for a real estate project that went sour. To start, I was billed $1819 for initial research in the first week. I was then billed an additional $3,333 the following week for more research. After these 2 i...nvoices were paid (Total $5152) Mr. Evans asked for a $7500 retainer that would be used for future litigation. I have an email from Mr. Evans that supports this as well. After the first week, I got an invoice that showed $5350 was already used of the $7500 retainer. I immediately contacted Mr. Evans and he explained that the money was spent on even more research. This research was not authorized or approved. This retainer was to be used for his services in actually litigating. The definition of litigation is: the process of taking legal action. IE: legal proceedings, legal actions, showing up in court, etc. None of these items happened. He merely continued to do more double research and charge excessive amounts. Mr. Evans misrepresented what this retainer was for and took advantage of me. When I signed this retainer, Mr. Evans made it very clear that it would be for future litigation and it would get me a good chunk of the way through the lawsuit. Instead, he blew through $5350 of $7500 (almost all of the retainer) in the first week doing absolutely nothing. He even lumped in old charges of work he did before the retainer was signed and those charges should have been on previous invoices. I have emails and invoices that support all of my claims. I have paid $10,500 for "alleged" research for this lawyer and have absolutely nothing to show for any of it. Once I realized that I was being scammed I promptly terminated the services of Mr. Evans. I have hired a new lawyer and he is advising me to file a complaint with the BBB and attorney general. Mr. Evans refuses to give a refund of any amount. I have a significant amount of experience with dealing with lawyers and have never been treated like this.