California Lawyer Accused of Stealing Client’s Car Crash Injury Settlement
An attorney has been accused of stealing most of a multimillion-dollar settlement he reached for the victim of a California car accident.
Philip Layfield was indicted Friday for mail fraud and money laundering. He’s expected to be extradited to Los Angeles. It’s unclear whether he has a lawyer.
According to the State Bar of California website he is no longer eligible to practice law. In response to disciplinary charges filed against him, he blames the finance department and others within the defunct firm of Layfield & Barrett for the various charges he faces.
Layfield was arrested last week in New Jersey after returning to the U.S. from his new home in Costa Rica.
Layfield, whose firm had offices in Southern California, negotiated a $3.9 million settlement two years ago for a man who’d been struck by a car in Orange County.
Federal prosecutors contend that Layfield took about $2 million for himself and the client got only $25,000.
If he’s convicted, Layfield could face up to 60 years in prison.
- The Field Inspection Gap: A Growing Structural Risk in Claims Handling
- The Future of Appraisal and the Rising Standard of Competency
- IBM, AT&T Accused by Whistleblower of Covering Up Foreign Hacks
- Why Toyota RAV4s Are Suddenly the Most Coveted Used Cars in America
- JPMorgan Denies Ex-VP’s Viral Harassment Claims in Court Filing
- ‘Big Tobacco’ Moment for Cannabis: What Insurers Need to Know About Murray v. Cresco
- Insurance Attorneys Flip $1M Hail Claim into Nearly $2M Suit for Contractor Interference
- CommScope Sued by Lenders for at Least $150 Million Over Alleged Breach