LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California man has been charged with taking illegal kickbacks to act as a plaintiff in dozens of corporate class-action lawsuits filed by Milberg Weiss, a move that brings a three-year federal probe to the door of one of the leading U.S. securities law firms.
The indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Thursday comes as prosecutors try to make a case that Milberg Weiss improperly paid plaintiffs to file lawsuits against publicly traded companies.
Although the indictment against former California entertainment lawyer Seymour Lazar names only "a New York law firm with principal offices in New York and California" as the source of the kickbacks he is alleged to have taken, the cases listed in the indictment were filed by Milberg Weiss.