Grimy Times Exclusive:
LOS ANGELES, CA – A disbarred personal-injury lawyer was sentenced today to 144 months in federal prison for stealing settlement money from multiple clients, including a multimillion-dollar settlement that should have been paid to a car accident victim, and for cheating on his federal income taxes.
Philip James Layfield, a.k.a. “Philip Samuel Pesin,” 48, formerly of Coto de Caza, was sentenced by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, who said in court that Layfield’s actions were “appalling” and his criminal conduct was “sheer evil.”
Judge Fitzgerald found the total loss in this case to be approximately $5,552,756. The exact amount of restitution that Layfield will be ordered to pay to his victims will be determined at a hearing scheduled for May 12.
At the conclusion of a 13-day trial in August 2021, a federal jury found Layfield guilty of 19 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of tax evasion, one count of failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes, and one misdemeanor charge of failure to file a tax return.
Layfield owned and operated law firms, including Layfield & Barrett (L&B), which, at various times, maintained offices in Los Angeles; Irvine; El Segundo; Park City, Utah; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
The State Bar of California disbarred Layfield in October 2018. Layfield also was a certified public accountant, but his CPA license expired in July 2019, according to the California Board of Accountancy.
Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Aveis and Carolyn S. Small of the Major Frauds Section and Ian V. Yanniello of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.
The defendant’s crimes include:
* Wire fraud (19 counts)
* Mail fraud
* Tax evasion
* Failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes
* Failure to file a tax return (misdemeanor)
The exact date of sentencing was [no specific date provided in source].
Related Federal Cases
- Philip James Layfield, Wire Fraud, Nevada 2023 · Idaho
- Amgen Inc, Pharmaceutical Misrepresentation, California 2024 · Oklahoma
- Live Nation, Antitrust Lawsuit, New York NY, 2024 · Oklahoma
- Don Chequetas, Fentanyl Trafficking, Colorado 2024 · California
- Robert James Waff, Unemployment Fraud, California 2024 · Utah
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: [‘Fraud & Financial Crimes’, ‘White Collar Crime’]
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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