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62 I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / B R I A N N A G I L P I N After spending time in prison for bank fraud, a former lawyer is using her story to help others traverse the ethical pitfalls of business. Miami, Florida, with its beautiful beaches and mild weather, draws in homebuyers from all over the country—and the globe. ough the sunny state of Florida totaled nearly 46,000 homes sold in 2016, 2008 was a completely different story, marking the state low of 25,900. With an economic recession in full swing, Rashmi Airan was approached by a real estate developer client who saw an opportunity to exploit this declining market. Rashmi was involved with executing creative transactions which would presumably help set her family up with financial stability. A SERIES OF BAD DECISIONS Airan, a former Miami lawyer and first- generation immigrant of Indian parents, always felt the need to exude perfection. After graduating a Kent Scholar with high honors from Columbia Law School, she worked for several law firms and eventually opened her own independent law practice. Airan was the breadwinner of her family, trying to achieve that cultural measure of success, gain status in her community, and assure overall advancement. Airan finally realized and took accountability that she had made a series of bad decisions. She eventually found herself in federal prison, and all she could think was "this can't be happening." In mid-October 2007, Airan began dealings with a South Florida real estate client who needed legal assistance in the closing of condos he was selling. She was to be the closing agent, coordinating transactions with the banks and getting approvals. However, an issue arose when the HUD documents didn't include one detail: the real estate developer was giving money back to buyers as an incentive. e developer was promising rental guarantees to buyers over a specific period of time for a specific amount of money. Ultimately, this affected the loan-to-value ratio and, by only showing what was coming out of the escrow account—not the seller's money going to the management company then back to the buyer, the government ruled it was a case of bank fraud conspiracy, and Airan was linked. "I assumed that every other developer and every other real estate transaction lawyer was doing something similar— maybe not exactly the same, but something in the same realm of creative transactions—and that somehow made it OK for me to do it," Airan said. Airan was a solo practitioner and thought the volume of business she was handling would create immediate financial stability for her loved ones. Because of this, according to Airan's mentor, Kendall Coffey, she rationalized it all rather than question or confirm what was really going on. "What I think Rashmi recognizes is that when those choices were presented to her, she rationalized," said Coffey, Partner and Founder of Coffey Burlington Law Firm. "She found ways—which smart people can often do, at least in her own mind—to justify the decisions that were made and perhaps at the time the minimization of her responsibility." e buyers were considered "straw buyers", meaning they were sought out by a developer through various representatives to use their good credit to get loans. During this time—before the 2008 housing crisis—it was considered a "no-income, no-asset loan." A person could just say they made $83,000, and the banks would believe them at face value. e buyer didn't have to prove it; they just had to have good credit. So, when developers found someone willing, AND THE VERDICT IS ...