Lawyer who forged client signatures on secret litigation-funding contracts takes wire-fraud plea
Seven years ago, Todd Macaluso won a $55 million verdict for the survivors of four U.S. Marines who died in a Camp Pendleton helicopter crash.
But by mid-2012 the California personal injury attorney was forging client signatures on secret litigation-funding contracts to get millions of dollars to keep his law practice running, federal prosecutors say.
On Tuesday, the 52-year-old pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud, admitting to a $70,000 fraud between 2012 and 2013, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. A press release by the U.S. attorney’s office for San Diego provides more details.
Macaluso declined to comment after a Tuesday court hearing. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
See also:
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San Diego Reader: “Big-idea Todd”
