Steve,

Continuing to send out work to abstractor's when you know you are in trouble and then demand that the abstractor take 50% of what they billed and what you agreed to pay (or get nothing) is in fact criminal.

If you walked into a store to purchase an item, and decided that you were only going to pay 50% of what the store was actually charging for it, then took the item and put your 50% down on the counter and left,  that would be considered theft in the real world,  your butt would be hauled off to jail and you would be facing criminal charges.

So yes they are criminals, they stole the money that belonged to the abstractors.

Jessica