Legal Ethics
Lawyer Sentenced to Home Detention for Taking Cash to Be a Plaintiff
A retired lawyer and client of Milberg Weiss has received a sentence of six months of home detention and two years of probation after his guilty plea to taking kickbacks from the firm.
Seymour Lazar, 80, was the first to be sentenced in the case, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prosecutors said he took the money to act as a name plaintiff in securities suits.
U.S. District Judge John Walter of Los Angeles could have sentenced Lazar to up to 18 years in prison. But the judge said Lazar’s frail health made him a suitable candidate for home detention, a sentence recommended by prosecutors.
Walter also ordered Lazar to pay a $600,000 fine. He has already forfeited $1.5 million under an agreement with prosecutors, Bloomberg News reports.
