Ethics
Lawyer accused of ‘egregious acts of dishonesty,’ playing with shopper money will get disbarred
A California lawyer has been disbarred after he was accused of misappropriating practically $117,000 in shopper cash, spending it on playing and private bills, after which mendacity to state bar officers about having most cancers. (Photograph from Shutterstock)
A California lawyer has been disbarred after he was accused of misappropriating practically $117,000 in shopper cash, spending it on playing and private bills, after which mendacity to state bar officers about having most cancers.
Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez of Manhattan Seaside, California, who makes use of Valdovinos as his final title, was disbarred efficient Oct. 18, in a Sept. 18 opinion by the California Supreme Courtroom. He was ordered to pay restitution and curiosity to 5 purchasers and to pay a $5,000 sanction to a shopper safety fund.
After ethics prices had been filed in opposition to him, Valdovinos informed the State Bar of California’s Workplace of Chief Trial Counsel that he had most cancers, based on the evaluate division opinion. He informed the listening to decide that he was present process chemotherapy, and that he was being handled by Dr. Stephen Chang of the Metropolis of Hope.
He didn’t present promised medical documentation. Investigators had been unable to search out any physician by that title at Metropolis of Hope.
Valdovinos later stated he didn’t current his medical documentation due to privateness considerations.
He additionally lied to purchasers about their circumstances, offering them with checks that had been stated to be settlement cash or a refund, the opinion stated. The checks bounced.
“This case is about an legal professional’s egregious acts of dishonesty that occurred in his observe and continued by means of his disciplinary trial,” the evaluate division of the State Bar Courtroom of California—the executive arm of the California Supreme Courtroom—stated in a June 28 opinion recommending disbarment.
Law360, KTLA and the Los Angeles Instances by way of Yahoo News are among the many publications with protection.
Valdovinos had claimed that the listening to decide was biased in opposition to him, and she or he had embarrassed him when she requested whether or not he supposed to boost playing habit as a mitigating consider his ethics case. The query was not unreasonable, the evaluate division stated. In a two-year interval, Valdovinos had spent $886,535 for playing chips from the Bicycle On line casino and the Commerce On line casino.
The opinion detailed alleged misappropriation and misrepresentations.
One shopper who stated she was injured in a automobile accident paid Valdovinos $4,850, however he by no means filed a lawsuit on her behalf, the evaluate division stated. He used the cash for private expenditures, together with funds for eating places, a gasoline station and the Bicycle On line casino. Valdovinos allegedly informed the shopper that he had filed the swimsuit, however there have been courtroom delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He later stated he settled the swimsuit, based on the opinion.
Valdovinos gave the shopper 4 checks stated to signify the settlement cash, however he stopped fee on the primary and had inadequate funds to cowl the opposite three, the opinion stated. He additionally claimed that he had tried to wire the funds, however there have been issues. He did present the shopper $500, the one cash he ever returned to her.
“Valdovinos went to nice lengths to provide [the client] the misunderstanding that he was making progress on her case and to cover the truth that he had not filed a lawsuit on her behalf, which is proof that the misrepresentations had been intentional,” the evaluate division stated.
Valdovinos additionally supplied different purchasers with checks that bounced, the listening to board stated.
“Valdovinos’s misconduct was widespread, masking a number of shopper issues, and he considerably harmed his purchasers,” the opinion stated.
The evaluate board cited a number of aggravating elements, together with that Valdovinos “lied about essentially the most simply verifiable information.” His misrepresentations about most cancers had been “purposeful misrepresentations” to keep away from complying with deadlines within the ethics case, the evaluate board stated.
“There may be nothing within the file as an instance Valdovinos discovered from his misconduct and wouldn’t have interaction in such misconduct once more; as an alternative, Valdovinos by no means confirmed regret or accepted accountability,” the opinion stated.
In his closing brief, Valdovinos had argued that the trial counsel’s workplace had relied closely “on hypothesis and innuendos.”
Valdovinos by no means informed one shopper that her case had settled for $175,000; somewhat, that was the quantity that the shopper hoped to acquire, Valdovinos stated. Her advance charges had been used for a non-public investigator. And he by no means filed swimsuit as a result of there was no damage, he stated.
One other shopper who reduce off contact with Valdovinos “selected to not acquire his funds in full,” the temporary stated. One other shopper by no means gave Valdovinos the required proof for his case. In yet one more case, Valdovinos labored on the case, utilizing up your entire retainer, Valdovinos stated.
Valdovinos was licensed in California in 2017 and had a solo observe. He’s a graduate of the Thomas Jefferson Faculty of Legislation in San Diego.
Valdovinos didn’t instantly reply to an ABA Journal request for remark despatched to an e-mail handle on file with the state bar. A cellphone quantity listed by the state bar was not in service.
