{"id":43853,"date":"2021-08-26T16:10:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T23:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43853"},"modified":"2021-08-26T16:10:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T23:10:52","slug":"disbarred-lawyer-found-guilty-of-22-felonies-for-stealing-client-settlement-money-he-is-facing-up-to-200-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43853","title":{"rendered":"Disbarred Lawyer Found Guilty of 22 Felonies for Stealing Client Settlement Money. He is facing up to 200 Years in Prison."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A disbarred personal-injury lawyer was found guilty by a federal jury today of 22 felonies for stealing the majority of a multimillion-dollar settlement that should have been paid to a car accident victim, as well as cheating on his federal income taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Philip James Layfield, a.k.a. \u201cPhilip Samuel Pesin,\u201d 48, of Las Vegas and formerly of Coto de Caza, was found guilty of 19 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of tax evasion, one count of failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes, and one misdemeanor charge of failure to file a tax return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald has scheduled a Nov. 8 sentencing hearing. If convicted, Layfield is facing up to 200 years in federal prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the jury verdicts, Layfield was remanded into federal custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          According to evidence presented at his 13-day trial, Layfield owned and operated law firms, including Layfield & Barrett (L&B), which, at various times, maintained offices in Irvine; Los Angeles; El Segundo; Park City, Utah; and Scottsdale, Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he had misappropriated millions of dollars from clients\u2019 settlements, Layfield relocated to Costa Rica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before getting on a flight to Costa Rica, Layfield borrowed $700,000 from a business lender by providing misleading information and failing to disclose material information. Then he used substantial portions of the loan proceeds for personal expenses, including buying a horse and shipping horses to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, Layfield entered into an agreement to represent an individual who was struck by an automobile in Orange County and suffered significant injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After negotiating a $3.9 million settlement related to the accident, Layfield misappropriated most of the money owed to the victim \u2013 approximately $2 million for personal and business uses, including to pay clients whose settlement proceeds Layfield had earlier misappropriated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car accident victim received only $25,000 of the settlement proceeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layfield also failed to file a federal income tax return for the tax year 2016, despite receiving more than $3 million, including embezzled client settlement money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layfield also caused his law firm to not pay approximately $120,976 in payroll taxes to the United States government for the second quarter of 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The State Bar of California disbarred Layfield in October 2018. Layfield also was a certified public accountant, but his CPA license expired in July 2019, according to the California Board of Accountancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"woman<\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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