Ex-Bridgeport attorney sentenced in foreclosure assistance scheme

Former Bridgeport attorney Bradford Barneys was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a fraud scheme aimed at distressed homeowners in Connecticut.

Barneys worked with former Easton resident Timothy W. Burke between 2011 and 2014 in a scheme to gain ownership of homes owned by people facing property foreclosures. Burke held dozens of meetings with the homeowners at Barneys”™ law office in Bridgeport, and Barneys received more than $72,000 in fees and other money for his participation in the fraud. Barneys later represented Burke and his companies in eviction proceedings against tenants. He was also found to have engaged in a separate scheme that was similar to the fraud that Burke engineered.

Barneys pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. His law license was suspended. Burke pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion and was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment on April 28.