Former Nixon Peabody lawyer is sentenced for obstructing Ponzi scheme probes
A former Nixon Peabody lawyer has been sentenced to seven years in prison for obstructing investigations into a $22 million Ponzi scheme.
David Tamman, 46, of Santa Monica, Calif., was sentenced on Monday, report the Associated Press, Reuters Legal (sub. req.), the Santa Monica Daily Press and City News Service. He was convicted last year on 10 counts, including conspiring to obstruct justice, altering documents, and being an accessory after the fact, City News says.
Tamman was accused of helping hide a Ponzi scheme by his client, John Farahi, the founder of NewPoint Financial Services. Farahi received a 10-year sentence in March.
A sentencing brief by prosecutors says Tamman altered documents that led the National Association of Securities Dealers to close an investigation in 2004, allowing Farahi to continue his wrongdoing for another five years, according to the City News report. Prosecutors also say Tamman falsified documents in a 2009 probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was also accused of obstructing a 2011 grand jury probe.
Tamman’s appellate lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, told Reuters Legal that his client plans to assert on appeal that he is innocent and did not receive a fair trial.
