A Massachusetts real estate attorney pleaded guilty last week to charges stemming from a wide-ranging scheme to defraud banks and mortgage companies as part of a conspiracy involving numerous sham short sales. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, Bellerose colluded with others including a loan officer and a real estate agent who were not identified in the charging document to defraud various banks through the use of bogus short sales of homes in Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen.