Ex-lawyer gets 2 years for his role in stealing much of disabled client's $500K settlement
A former Seattle lawyer has been sentenced to two years for his role in stripping a disabled client of much of the money she was entitled to receive from a $500,000 insurance settlement in an auto accident case.
Edward Joseph Callow, 39, must also pay $167,500 in restitution, representing his client’s share of the portion of the settlement he didn’t tell her about, as well as attorney fees the victim has paid or will pay in efforts to obtain the insurance money to which she is entitled, the Enumclaw Courier-Herald reports.
Now disbarred, Callow pleaded guilty in July to five felony charges in the King County Superior Court case, including theft and money laundering.
His co-defendant, former claims adjuster Fariborz “Romeo” Rahrovi, is accused of aiding the theft and taking $135,000 for himself and faces much the same charges that Callow did. Rahrovi is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty at the beginning of the year.
Prosecutors said Callow told his client the settlement had been only $250,000, not $500,000, and paid her only some $165,000 of it, representing about one-third of the total amount. He was disbarred earlier and has been in jail since March.
Hat tip: Claims Journal.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Disbarred lawyer charged with client insurance settlement theft is jailed after return from Taiwan”
