CHICAGO
A California attorney pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to criminal contempt for failing to ensure settlement funds were distributed to families of victims killed in the 2018 crash of Lion Air Flight 610, officials stated.
Keith Griffin, 54, of Temple City, California, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt in the Northern District of Illinois. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, 2026.
Griffin worked for the now-defunct personal injury firm Girardi Keese, which represented victims’ relatives in lawsuits against Boeing Co., the aircraft’s manufacturer.
The cases were settled in 2020.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin ordered that $7.5 million in settlement funds be distributed to the clients as soon as practicable. Boeing wired the funds to the firm’s client trust account in March 2020.
In a plea agreement, Griffin admitted he knew for eight months that the firm had failed to distribute the full settlement funds, violating the court’s order despite repeated demands from clients.
The victims ultimately received their money after another law firm’s insurer paid the claims.