Feds Indict Milberg Weiss' Favorite Plaintiff

A Los Angeles federal grand jury has indicted a Palm Springs, Calif., man for taking millions in kickbacks to serve as a plaintiff in class action suits brought by Milberg Weiss, one of the biggest law firms specializing in litigation against company boards including insurers and brokers.

Accused was Seymour Lazar, 78, a retired attorney who allegedly accepted an estimated $2.4 million in illegal payments for serving as a named plaintiff in more than 50 class action lawsuits over a period of 20 years.

Mr. Lazar faces charges that he conspired to obstruct justice and defraud absent class members and shareholders in the lawsuits in which Mr. Lazar or one of his family members served as a named plaintiff.

New York-based Milberg Weiss issued a statement saying it was "saddened" by the indictment against Mr. Lazar.

"Although the indictment does not name Milberg Weiss, it unfairly implicates the firm in the wrongdoing of Lazar. We are outraged that these allegations have been made against the firm and reject them as baseless," the statement said.

The indictment refers only to a New York law firm. It alleges that to conceal the kickback scheme from the courts presiding over such lawsuits and other parties to such legal actions, Mr. Lazar made false and misleading statements in depositions and documents he signed under penalty of perjury.

The indictment also includes six substantive money laundering counts, one count of obstructing the grand jury investigation, and a criminal forfeiture count.

According to the grand jury, Palm Springs attorney Paul Seltzer, 64, served as one of the intermediary lawyers who laundered illegal kickback payments for the benefit of Mr. Lazar.

Attorney Thomas Bienert in San Clemente, Calif., who represents Mr. Lazar, told the New York Times the government was trying to pressure his client to take a plea deal and testify against Milberg Weiss. He described Mr. Lazar as a "crusader for consumer advocacy."

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Feds Indict Milberg Weiss' Favorite Plaintiff

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