Class action layer to plead guilty of kickbacks

NY Times:

The prominent lawyer Melvyn I. Weiss of the Milberg Weiss law firm, a prolific filer of lawsuits against publicly held corporations, has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, according to his defense lawyer.

According to a statement released Thursday by the defense lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, Mr. Weiss will plead guilty to participating in a criminal conspiracy to pay a share of legal fees to plaintiffs in shareholder suits brought by Milberg Weiss. Such kickbacks are improper because they give plaintiffs representing a class of all shareholders an incentive to accept a deal that might not be best for the class.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Weiss faces a sentence of up to 33 months in prison. Mr. Weiss has also agreed to pay a total of $10 million in fines and penalties, according to the statement.

...

... Mr. Weiss’s longtime partner and later rival in the shareholder litigation business, William S. Lerach, in October pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice and was sentenced last month to two years in prison.


Both were big contributers to Democrats and many have been reluctant to disgorge the contributions including Hillary Clinton. You have to wonder if all these plaintiff lawyers would have been prosecuted under a Democrat administration. The silence of the candidates is not an encouraging sign.

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