As thousands of Coloradans battled to save their homes from foreclosure in the past decade, the owners of one law firm allegedly devised a scheme that eventually milked tens of millions of dollars from banks, homeowners and investors.

That’s the picture painted by state prosecutors Monday in the beginning of their civil lawsuit against Larry Castle, his attorney-wife, Caren, and the law firm they built into a foreclosure empire that nearly cornered the industry in Colorado.

By allegedly colluding with companies in which they had a financial interest, and with their biggest competitor in the foreclosure business — Aronowitz & Mecklenburg — the Castles managed to wring extensive profits from the misery that came with the collapse of the real estate industry, prosecutors said.

[DENVER POST]