Distinguished attorney Manuel “Manny” Farach, member at the Fort Lauderdale office of national firm McGlinchey Stafford, has been accused of committing fraud on behalf of a former client.

In a July 7 lawsuit filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court, CR Technologies alleges that Farach actively participated in a conspiracy to mislead the South Florida tech company during an earlier legal clash. The suit also names Richman Greer P.A. — Farach's former firm — as a defendant in addition to Jonathan Turner and US Datanet Corp., which had been represented by Farach in the underlying case.

According to the filing, the defendants withheld the existence of a reservation of rights letter after US Datanet filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2012, US Datanet and Turner swore that they were unaware of any reservation of rights letter or any documentation stating their insurance claims had been denied.

Read the allegation sagainst Manny Farach, Richman Greer and US Datanet here:

Once a judgment was reached against US Datanet in the underlying case, the company's insurer, Twin City Fire Insurance Co., filed an action denying coverage. In the timeline established by this latest complaint, the discovery tied to the insurance company's action turned up a reservation of rights letter addressed to US Datanet and dated 2008.

In its most recent filing, CR Technologies argues that the purported concealment of the reservation of rights letter by US Datanet and their counsel made it impossible for the plaintiff to collect on the final judgment ordered in the underlying suit.

“If CR Tech was aware of the existence and content of the reservation of rights letter … it would have conducted the litigation differently, especially since CR Tech was given relief from the automatic stay by the bankruptcy court to pursue the initial action and to collect against the insurer of the defendants in the initial action,” the complaint says. “Thus, USD and Turner benefited from the fraud that USD committed upon CR Tech and the court throughout the litigation in the initial action, specially throughout the discovery responses.”

The complaint describes Farach and Richman Greer as “active participants in the fraud” committed against the plaintiffs. Specifically, the suit says that “by filing discovery responses, especially sworn interrogatory responses, that they knew or should have known were false,” Farach and the other defendants committed fraud on CR Technologies and the court.

This suit is the latest action taken by CR Technologies and their lawyer, Palm Beach Gardens-based litigation attorney Jose D. Sosa, against US Datanet Corp. The initial suit was filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court in 2008 and stemmed from a disagreement between the two technology companies over fees and usage rights concerning a long-distance communication service rented out to US Datanet by CR Technologies. A final judgment ordered on July 29, 2013, collectively awarded $644,746.55 to CR Technologies after US Datanet was found to have committed civil theft.

However, CR Technologies has since had trouble securing the judgment amount from US Datanet due to issues with the latter's insurance providers and coverage. CR Technologies' latest complaint states that their “justifiable reliance upon the misrepresentations of the Defendants caused it damages” and have left the company “unable to collect upon the Judgment entered in the Initial Action, among other damages.”

When contacted by the Daily Business Review, Farach said he was unaware of the suit and declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Sosa declined to comment pending further discussion with his client, CR Technologies. He did not reply to further inquiries by deadline.

Read the original 2008 complaint against US Datanet here: