Disbarred Las Vegas attorney agrees to prison time for foreclosure fraud

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A disbarred Nevada attorney will serve several years in prison as part of a plea agreement involving allegations he misrepresented homeowners going through foreclosure, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

Last November, a Clark County grand jury indicted J. Scott MacDonald on 24 felony charges, including theft and perjury, records said. MacDonald settled his case before trial, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of theft and serve 3-8 years in prison.

A Metro detective told the grand jury that MacDonald misrepresented clients and kept money in cases involving real estate and foreclosures, documents said. The incidents occurred from 2018 to December 2022, records said.

In 2023, MacDonald voluntarily gave up his law license. Documents filed with the Nevada Supreme Court indicate he acknowledged the facts surrounding the state bar’s investigation into the allegations were “true” and that “he could not successfully defend against those charges,” documents said.

A judge will formally sentence MacDonald on Sept. 16.