Lerach gets two years in kickback scheme

William S. Lerach, who pleaded guilty in October, also agreed to forfeit $7.75 million to the government and was fined $250,000.

William S. Lerach, a former partner at Milberg Weiss LLP, was sentenced to two years in jail for his role in a kickback scheme involving securities class actions, according to published reports.
Mr. Lerach, who pleaded guilty in October, also agreed to forfeit $7.75 million to the government and was fined $250,000 (InvestmentNews, Oct. 30) .
He is set to report to federal prison in California on April 21.
Seven people, including three former partners at the firm, have pleaded guilty in the case.
Milberg Weiss had been the subject of a seven-year federal investigation into allegations that the firm had paid clients $11.3 million in kickbacks to bring securities fraud cases.
In August, Mr. Lerach announced that he was retiring from his law firm Lerach, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP in San Diego, amid a federal investigation into his practices (InvestmentNews, Aug. 29) .
Authorities said Mr. Lerach’s former firm, now known as New York-based Milberg Weiss, made an estimated $250 million over two decades by filing legal actions on behalf of professional plaintiffs who received kickbacks.