Feds Indict Milberg Weiss' Favorite Plaintiff
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted a Palm Springs, Calif., man in connection with allegations concerning class-action suits brought by Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman L.L.P., a law firm that often organizes suits against the boards of insurers and other businesses.
The individual accused is Seymour Lazar, 78, a retired attorney. Prosecutors say he accepted $2.4 million in illegal payments for serving as a named plaintiff in about 50 class-action lawsuits over a period of 20 years.
Prosecutors say Lazar conspired to obstruct justice and defraud absent class members and shareholders in lawsuits in which Lazar or one of his family members served as a named plaintiff.
The indictment refers to a New York law firm but does not give the name of that firm. The indictment alleges that, to conceal the kickback scheme from the courts presiding over class-action lawsuits and other parties to such legal actions, Lazar made false and misleading statements in depositions and documents he signed under penalty of perjury.
