Down Payment "Under Contract" was never paid to Seller

[SuperCat]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina

I am faced with having to sue a former boyfriend over a real estate transaction and prior to doing so, I would like to get an educated opinion. Here are the facts:
Sold home to a boyfriend (financee at the time) in order to comply with a divorce decree (mine). I had to get the home out of my ex-husband's name (off his credit - refinanced, whatever) within a year of our divorce being final.
I could not qualify for financing at the time and my fiancee "stepped up to the plate" and offered to refinance the home in his name so I wouldn't be held in contempt of court. Dummy that I am, I did this.

Of course the relationship went SOUTH in a BIG way after the boyfriend got the house in his name -- If it makes any difference, this boyfriend was the star "witness" in my divorce proceeding, claiming he saw my ex-husband with a paramour, etc. etc. Also he recommended the attorney I used for my divorce and subsequently used this same attorney to close the real estate transaction and told me I didn't need to procure an attorney for myself. This one attorney did it all - Divorce, real estate transaction for both sides.

When he went to finance the house, he could not come up with a downpayment of 25% of the transaction like the bank requested. So he said he would pay it to me "under contract". In order to get the deal done, I signed a receipt saying I received money from him "under contract" for the down payment. The settlement statement also notes that the down payment was made (exactly 25% of the purchase price plus HIS closing costs equal what the "down payment under contract" was) "under contract".

To date, I haven't seen a dime of this money he was supposed to have paid me "under contract". Several friends (who walk upright and appear to be semi-intelligent beings) have counseled me that the whole deal was FRAUD because the attorney should have held the down payment in escrow until the close. If the attorney didn't have the down payment money in escrow, the deal should have never been done.
Need some opinions -- Thanks in advance

You need to hire a very good real estate attorney before the sun goes down.

[SuperCat]

Well, I did go see an attorney - According to him, we definetly have grounds for a lawsuit but there is a bigger issue at stake and that is a FRAUD case against the lawyer that closed the deal. According to the attorney I just hired, the lawyer that did this close is probably liable for paying my downpayment and could be prosecuted! Apparently "under contract" doesn't fly with a downpayment. He should have put P.O.C. on the closing statement (underneath his little "under contract" notation) and since the downpayment didn't go thru his trust account and wasn't disbursed to me, it is fraud. Apparently that's the kicker. There are some other various and sundry little items that don't look good for this lawyer either, first and foremost is that he was the lawyer that also handled my divorce where I was deeded the property originally. My ex-fiance (who I never got my downpayment from) testified to my husband's adultery (the grounds I obtained my divorce on) at my divorce trial and subsequently we found out this ex-fiance lied on the stand during my divorce proceedings and couldn't pick my husband out of a line-up of people much less the girl he supposedly saw him with. He can't even recant the same story he told in court now (I guess that is the problem with lying, it is hard to remember what you told whom). So**************...here we go to court! Any other suggestions anyone might give me about the trial process and any of the above would be so greatly appreciated.

Yep, this smells bad, criminally and civilly:

"...To date, I haven't seen a dime of this money he was supposed to have paid me "under contract". Several friends (who walk upright and appear to be semi-intelligent beings) have counseled me that the whole deal was FRAUD because the attorney should have held the down payment in escrow until the close. If the attorney didn't have the down payment money in escrow, the deal should have never been done...."