David Tamman, Obstruction of Justice, California 2023

A Santa Monica lawyer who helped obstruct two separate investigations into an investment scheme that ultimately took $22 million from victims was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.

Attorney David Tamman, 46, was sentenced by United States District Judge Phillip S. Gutierrez, who also ordered the defendant to pay a $2,500 fine.

At today's hearing, Judge Gutierrez said that, apart from the magnitude of the fraud Tamman helped cover up, the substantial sentence was warranted by the fact that the defendant lied to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and then compounded the matter by lying during his trial in 2012.

Following a bench trial last year, Tamman was found guilty of 10 counts that included obstruction of justice, altering records in a federal investigation, and being an accessory after the fact to the fraud scheme.

The evidence presented at the trial showed that Tamman conspired with John Farahi, who operated the Ponzi scheme, to obstruct an SEC investigation into the fraud scheme.

Tamman, who was suspended from practicing law earlier this year by the California State Bar, served as outside counsel for Farahi's investment company, Newpoint Investment Services.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/attorney-who-twice-helped-obstruct-investigations-22-million-ponzi-scheme-sentenced