The Brief

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.”

The Orange County Board of Supervisors “undermined” the public’s trust when they granted themselves a 25% pay increase, according to the latest OC Grand Jury report released on Monday.

Since 2005, supervisors were set to make 80% of a Superior Court judge’s salary. That changed in June, when the board approved a 25% pay hike, increasing their salaries by about $49,000 to at least $244,000.

The pay increase raised eyebrows over the summer, sparking the Grand Jury investigation. A Grand Jury is a panel of citizens who investigate local government and public agencies. Members serve one year and look into several issues during that time.

It came just weeks after former Supervisor Andrew Do was sentenced to five years in federal prison for accepting more than $550,000 in bribes. The county itself is also financially in hot water following the Airport Fire, which has racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims against the county.

“The timing was especially troubling as the County of Orange (County) has been facing hiring freezes and budget constraints,” the Grand Jury reported. “This decision was not only tone-deaf — it reflected a deeper disconnect from the Board’s duty to serve the public with transparency and fiscal responsibility.”

What does the Grand Jury say? 

The Grand Jury questioned how the item was presented to the public and whether it was purposefully buried within the county budget agenda item.

“The Board added their salary increase into the $10.8 billion 2025-2026 Orange County Annual Budget adoption process. This resulted in a minimal description in the agenda and minimal opportunity for citizen input,” the Grand Jury reported. “Therefore, the Grand Jury investigated: why did they want to conceal their salary increase, was it warranted at this time and who initiated it?”

The board’s vote, the Grand Jury stated, signifies that the board prioritizes personal gain over accountability and public trust.

“Elected officials are entrusted to serve, not to enrich themselves. When this happens, the foundation of representative democracy is undermined,” the Grand Jury said. “The people of Orange County deserve better, and the people must demand it.”

How are officials responding? 

OC Supervisor Katrina Foley — the lone dissenting vote on the raises — said she was not surprised by the Grand Jury’s findings.

“I think most people felt that it was poor form for that to happen at that time, and given our current economic instability due to what's happening at the federal and the state level,” Foley told LAist.

Following the criticism, Supervisors Vicente Sarmiento and Doug Chaffee said they would donate their increased pay to charity.

“I am open to considering the recommendations in the report for changes to the pay ordinance and how future increases are approved, and I have been open to reconsidering the pay increase,” Sarmiento said in a statement.

A county spokesperson and Supervisor Don Wagner declined to comment. Supervisor Doug Chaffee and Janet Nguyen did not respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What’s next? 

The report made a handful of recommendations, including that the board rescind the pay raise and salary changes by next March “to restore institutional trust and demonstrate a genuine commitment to transparency and accountability.”

It also recommends that the board adopt procedures for proposing, reviewing and approving future supervisor salary changes that include public hearings.

The county has 90 days from the release of the report to respond to the Grand Jury, according to a county spokesperson.

The increase of federal immigration sweeps in Southern California this year made one thing clear to street vendors without authorization to be in the U.S. — running a business outside was risky.

In response, L.A. nonprofit Inclusive Action for the City ramped up an existing program that trains street vendors to work in private catering.

“One of the big successes of the year was the growth of our Hire a Vendor program, where our business coaches essentially became brokers for our street vendors and other entrepreneurs so they can get catering jobs,” said Rudy Espinoza, the group’s CEO.

The program was created in 2024 but the group expanded it this year after the increase of immigration sweeps. The group said in its annual report that 34 small businesses were trained for catering this year and more than 350 catering jobs came to those trainees this year.

The training program includes menu design and pricing, electronic sales systems and marketing

(

Courtesy Inclusive Action for the City

)

“Everywhere from the mayor's house to a small backyard party,” Espinoza said.

The group’s effort is part of actions taken by individuals and groups across the region to help people targeted for detention keep sources of income.

That help has included buyouts of daily inventory of fruit and flowers, as well as the awarding of grants to street vendors who lost income because they stayed home.

Advocates said the loss of income through detentions — many carried out through violent means — often affected family members who were U.S. citizens and has created a humanitarian crisis as families have lost the means to pay bills and buy food.

Street vendors in a Hire a Vendor session organized by Inclusive Action for the City.

(

Courtesy Inclusive Action for the City

)

The vendor training program sought to alleviate that.

“Sometimes, challenges force us to think, be creative and think about how to adapt,” Espinoza said. “The Hire a Vendor program is just an example of how some entrepreneurs really dedicated themselves to build out a different line of business for themselves.”

How it works

The Hire a Vendor program is free to people who seek and receive micro-loans from Inclusive Action for the City.

Four of the program’s nine sessions are "office hours" in which a business coach works one-on-one with the business owner.

The trainings cover:

• Catering basics such as delivery, set-up and presentation
• Invoicing and electronic sale systems
• Menu design and pricing
• Marketing through social media

The trained vendors are free to pursue their own catering jobs but also get catering work through a portal created by Inclusive Action for the City.

Espinoza said one full-time employee oversaw the program this year, and he’d like to add another full-time worker to expand the trainings in 2026.

The Trump administration will resume garnishing wages from student loan borrowers in default in early 2026, the U.S. Education Department confirmed to NPR.

The move comes after a years-long pause in wage garnishment due to the pandemic.

"We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of Jan. 7," a department spokesperson told NPR. The spokesperson said wage-garnishment notices are expected to increase on a monthly basis throughout the year.

A borrower is in default when they have not made loan payments in more than 270 days. Once that happens, the federal government can try to collect on the debt by seizing tax refunds and Social Security benefits and also by ordering an employer to withhold up to 15% of a borrower's pay. Borrowers should receive a 30-day notice from the Education Department before this wage garnishment begins.

Betsy Mayotte, the president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, says even though borrowers have expected this, the timing is unfortunate.

"It will coincide with the increase in health care costs for many of these defaulted borrowers," she said, referring to the premium increases for Affordable Care Act health insurance that kick in in 2026. "The two will almost certainly put significant economic strain on low- and middle-income borrowers."

About 5.5 million borrowers currently are in default, according to a recent analysis of the latest federal student loan data published by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a public policy think tank.

Another 3.7 million are more than 270 days late on their payments and 2.7 million are in the early stages of delinquency.

"We've got about 12 million borrowers right now who are either delinquent on their loans or in default," Preston Cooper, who studies student loan policy at AEI, told NPR.

That's more than 1 in 4 federal student loan borrowers.

Cory Turner contributed to this story.

Copyright 2025 NPR