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Legal Ethics

Prominent Lawyer Pleads Guilty for Role in Billionaire’s Alleged Embezzling

Posted Aug 21, 2008 12:38 PM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

An up-and-coming Miami lawyer has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in connection with his representation of a wealthy businessman, the National Law Journal reports.

Miami lawyer Richard Simring entered the plea in July in the Eastern District of Virginia, but few were aware of the development, according to the story. The publication describes Simring as a rising legal star and community activist who clerked for Rosemary Barkett, the former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court who now sits on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At one time he was a partner at Stroock Stroock & Lavan.

Simring has agreed to testify against the businessman, billionaire Ed Okun, as part of the deal, Simring’s lawyer, Brian Tannebaum, told the National Law Journal. Simring faces up to five years in prison.

Simring was chief legal counsel to Okun, who ran the 1031 Tax Group, a company that specialized in 1031 tax exchanges that allow investors to defer capital gains by exchanging one property for another, the story says. Prosecutors allege Okun misappropriated money he was supposed to be holding in escrow for investors. Okun was indicted in July.

The criminal information and a statement of facts claim Simring conspired with Okun to mislead investors about the safekeeping of their money, and even helped transferred $8 million in investor money to Okun’s personal accounts after he became interim CEO of Okun’s company. But he began work for Okun with a warning about his business methods.

The story says Simring was of counsel at Jorden Burt when he began representing Okun in 2006. Simring warned Okun that he could not take money from client funds, according to the government. Okun responded that he would pay back most of the money and change his business methods.

Okun hired Simring as chief legal officer in January 2007, paying Simring an annual salary of $850,000 and giving him a signing bonus of $100,000, the government claims. Simring later learned that Okun had not lived up to his promises but the lawyer misled clients by telling them the company was suffering only from short-term liquidity issues, according to the statement of facts.

He and Okun also used new money to pay old clients in a manner consistent with a Ponzi scheme, the facts statement says. Simring was CEO for just three days.

Comments

1.

Freind of Richard Smring
Aug 23, 2008 9:49 AM CST

Richard Simring is not a thief.

He is a remarkeable member of society who diuring a period of personal grief suffered and still suffers from a mental collapse and dimiished capaciy so that he was conned and coerced by Okun, an establihed co artist, who had aleady stolen over a hundred million dollars, to join his company.

Richard is naive and in his innocence and diminished capacity, during a period of three days, may have signed documents, which is the basis of the government’s case.

Rchard was earning in excess of $750,000 annually as a partner in a prestgioius law firm and his earnings with Okun was only slightly higher.

Prior to Simring joining ith Okun, Okun had done all the damage.

Ricjhard received no monetary gain from his association with Okun except for his salary. No damage resulted from Simring’s alleged participation.

The real problem is Brian Tannebaum, Richard’s publicity seeking attorney whose press release infers that Richard is guilty, wants to take responsibility and is afraid to go to trial.

Brian Tannebaum knows that Richard Simring was and is mentally impaired, is not guilty and should not had pled to crimes he did not commit.

Brian Tanebum allowed Richard to be interrogated for over four hours by two or more government officials, playing good cop/bad cop, telling half truths, advising that all other Okun associates were pleaing, which is unrue, and that unless Richard peas he will go to jail for twenty years instead of two.

No real lawyer would allow his client to be so exposed, coerced and berated, especally when he knows the facts, his client’s obvious mental diminished capacity caused by personal problems, and that the government had no case.

Any real lawyer would also advise his client to demand immunity, whether guilty or not, before agreeing to cooperate.

Because of hs lawyers obvious malpractice a once exceptional member of society will become a:

Convictef felon for life. Richard is 42 years old.
Incarcerated
Disbarred
Unable to obtain any meaningful employment for life.
Because his lawyer allowed a plea to conspiracywith Okun in stealing over one hundred mlliondollars, although this is not true, Ricjhard may never be readmitted to practice law.
Suffer an unwarrented, disgraceful and useless life.

The government, the Judge and his lawyer are all aware of this and they do not care. The government wants to win at any cost, even ruining young man’s life. The systm demands expediancy not justice.

Freind of Richard Simring
Restitution in the milions.

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2.

ELLIS STEWART
Aug 30, 2008 9:33 AM CST

RICHARD SIMRING PLED GUILTY BECAUSE O F THREATS MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY WANTED SIMRING TO BE A MORE CREDIBLE WITNESS AGAINST OKUN.

WITH THIS TRAGIC MONUMENTAL INJUSTICE IN RUINING THE LIFE OF AN EXTRAORDINARY MEMBER OF SOCIETY,CONDONED BY HIS ATTORNIES, ONE CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT HIS PUBLICITY SEEKING COUNSEL IS GUILTY OF GROSS MALPRACTICE.

ALLOWING THE PLEA AND THEN ANNOUNCING TO THE PUBLIC THAT SIMRING WANTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CHARGES AGAINST HIM (EVEN THO THEY ARE UNTRUE) AND THAT HE IS AFRAID TO DEFEND THE CHARGES AT TRIAL IS DEFAMATION OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE AND THIS PRESS RELEASE BY HIS LAWYER, BRIAN TANNEBAUM, IS DISGRACEFUL AND UNPROFESIONAL.

ELLIS STEWART

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3.

jeannie
Sep 1, 2008 11:30 AM CST

I have known Richard for many years. He always displayed extremme honesty and integrity.I always base my opinions on past behavior and can only conclude that Richard was unable and unaware of Okun’s schemes.
He is brilliant attorney and these indictments seem unjust.

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