4 Lawyers Accused in Major Ins. Fraud; Geragos Blames AIG for Client's Situation
Four California lawyers have been criminally charged, along with four chiropractors and 20 other defendants, in a Los Angeles auto insurance fraud prosecution that could get much larger.
Defendant attorneys John Akopian, 37, of Glendale; Edward Leonid Katsnelson, 50, of Corona; Leon Rubin Laufer, 57, of Beverly Hills; and Stephen Marshall Weiss, 62, of Los Angeles are each charged with dozens of counts concerning an alleged scheme to defraud 15 insurance companies by filing false claims over staged accidents, reports the Metropolitan News-Enterprise.
Akopian and Weiss have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them; the other two lawyers haven’t been arrested, the article states. Prosecutors contend that the 28 defendants are part of a much bigger conspiracy involving 300 suspects including Russian lawyers and Armenians who faked claims.
Attorney Mark Geragos, who is representing Akopian, says his client is innocent and blames a major insurer, American International Group Inc., for Akopian’s situation.
“It’s ironic the amount of resources that have been focused on my client and a bunch of other people, residents here, when in fact the purported victim here is AIG that’s ripped off the taxpayers for hundreds of billions of dollars,” Geragos tells the Glendale News Press. “Once we’re in the courtroom, all of this will unravel and will show that John had no involvement in anything. … This whole thing is orchestrated by AIG and everyone else just fell into line.”
Prosecutor Gregory Alker is overseeing the Los Angeles County case.
