Posted on 04/20/2005 7:18:01 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawyer convicted of stealing settlement money from vulnerable clients, including $250,000 from a brain-damaged infant, was sentenced on Tuesday to more than 14 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Nikolai Tehin, 58, of San Francisco, was found guilty last October in the embezzlement of more than $2 million from his clients' settlement packages.
"This is the most severe sentence I've ever received from a federal court judge," Tehin's attorney, Harold Rosenthal, said in a telephone interview.
During years defending people in medical malpractice and personal injury cases, Tehin would regularly deposit settlement checks into his firm's account and not tell clients he had received the money, according to court papers.
The FBI agent who led the investigation said Tehin used the embezzled money "to fund a lavish personal lifestyle" and pay office expenses for his Tehin & Partners law firm.
His victims included twin babies suffering from cystic fibrosis. Court records show Tehin embezzled $682,154 he was supposed to hold in trust for their medical expenses. The brain-damaged infant boy never received his money either.
Other victims included about 100 tenants in a dilapidated housing complex in Napa, California, who won a $2 million settlement. Tehin spent the money on personal and business expenses, according to court documents.
After the tenants marched outside his downtown San Francisco law office protesting the delay in receiving their money, he paid them out of funds he stole from other settlements, authorities said.
A hearing scheduled for May 3 will determine what he owes victims in restitution.
bah. I finally found it was posted already at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1387671/posts
just none of the words came up in a match in search; maybe this can be "extended news", not front page?
That's a sad statement. Now I have to wonder how many others he has represented, and got away with it. It must be a common charge too. Warning to lawyers: don't hire this guy, he looses.
gee, he functions just like the Social Security Administration!
Has anyone wondered why lawyers end up in politics, and worse, as Democrat/Liberal politicians?
Why are conservative politicians mostly business owners ?
It doesn't sound like he defended anyone. He's a plaintiff's attorney. He attacked for a living. He stole to get the finer things in life.
This nebbish with a license to steal obviously didn't share the wealth with Boxer and Feinstein.
Are you sure about that??
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