Sidley Austin Vows to Fight Claims It Aided $1.3B Ponzi Scheme
"We believe the claims asserted against the firm and Mr. Sullivan are without merit, and we intend to defend the case vigorously," a spokesman for Sidley said.
December 03, 2019 at 06:42 PM
4 minute read
Robert Shapiro of Woodbridge Realty of Colorado. Courtesy photo
Sidley Austin on Tuesday vowed to fight claims that it, along with 18 other lawyers and law firms, helped to perpetuate a $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme that swindled money out of thousands of investors.
According to a $500 million lawsuit filed by the receiver who is representing the investors, Sidley and one of its attorneys, Neal Sullivan, were "heavily involved" in the legal matters of Woodbridge Group of Cos., which was led by California executive and incarcerated mastermind Robert Shapiro.
"We believe the claims asserted against the firm and Mr. Sullivan are without merit, and we intend to defend the case vigorously," a spokesman for Sidley said. Sullivan is a Washington, D.C., partner and the global leader of Sidley's regulatory and enforcement practice.
Shapiro pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy and income tax evasion and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in October.
Shapiro promised investors they would profit from placing money in low-risk, high-interest loans that were issued on real estate owned by third parties. But that real estate either didn't exist or was secretly owned by Shapiro. Shapiro also siphoned off millions of dollars for his personal use.
According to the lawsuit filed by Michael Goldberg, an Akerman partner who is the receiver of the Woodbridge Liquidation Trust, Sidley and other law firms allegedly helped perpetuate Shapiro's Ponzi scheme by preparing documents that continued the fraud.
"The law firms and attorneys that are defendants in this complaint aided and abetted numerous securities violations and fraudulent acts," wrote Goldberg's lawyers in the complaint filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Los Angeles. "Some drafted offering documents replete with false statements that they knew were false. Some prepared negligent legal opinion memorandums to be shared with investors. Some assisted Shapiro in concealing his fraud."
In one instance in 2015, Sidley allegedly prepared a legal opinion that Woodbridge then used to assure people their investments in the company were legally sound. Goldberg alleged that Sidley knew or should have known that its conclusions in that opinion were heavily contested by state regulators who were probing whether Woodbridge was a Ponzi scheme.
Apart from Sidley, the other law firms who were named in Goldberg's 262-page, 62-claim lawsuit include Davis Graham & Stubbs; Halloran & Sage; Balcomb & Green; Rome McGuigan; Bailey Cavalieri; Robinson & Cole; Finn Dixon & Herling; and Haight Brown & Bonesteel, along with lawyers at those firms. Those other firms and lawyers did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
"We're trying to pick up the pieces for these people and help them recover their massive—and tragic—losses," said Louis Miller, a partner at Miller Barondess who is representing Goldberg, in a statement. "We look forward to facing the defendants in a court of law and holding them responsible for the devastating losses they helped cause."
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the California court where Tuesday's complaint was filed.
Read More
CEO Sentenced to 25 Years for Leading $1.3 Billion Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
California's Robert Shapiro Pleads Guilty in $1.3 Billion Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
Woodbridge Group Slapped With $1 Billion Penalty for Ponzi Scheme
Boca Raton-Based Woodbridge Marketers Face SEC Charges
SEC Claims Florida-Based Woodbridge Group Ran $1.2B Ponzi Scheme
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