Nine Law Firms Sued For Alleged Role In $1.3B Ponzi Scheme

Following the conviction of Robert Shapiro for engineering a $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme, nine law firms have been sued for their alleged part in the fraud. Shapiro was handed a 25-year prison sentence and ordered to give up investor-funded assets, including Picasso and Renoir art, more than 600 bottles of wine, jewelry and one classic Mercury convertible. The law firms being sued are “very substantial” and he expects they have deep pockets, says Miller Barondess partner Louis “Skip” Miller, one of the Los Angeles attorneys who is representing the liquidation trust of the now-defunct real estate investment firm that Shapiro ran. These law firms “wrote the offering documents which were false and misleading and they gave opinion letters to investors which were false and misleading,” Miller said. The trust is seeking $500 million in damages plus additional restitution and punitive damages.