A Harford County lawyer has been indicted on theft charges in connection with a bankruptcy and foreclosure operation, the county state's attorney office said yesterday.

Norman Joseph Lee III, 58, was indicted by a county grand jury on one count of theft and one count of conspiracy to commit theft. Lee was being held in the Harford County Detention Center in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

Lee operated Maryland Foreclosure Workout Solutions for six months, ending in January 2007, out of the Bel Air law office of Harold J. Tulley. According to the Harford County state's attorney's office, Lee would offer to handle refinancing options for homeowners facing foreclosure while Tulley was to file for bankruptcy on their behalf.

Phaedra Deshields retained Lee and Tulley in December 2006, hoping to stop foreclosure on her home in Edgewood. No bankruptcy claim was filed and Deshields lost her home.