A former Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partner criminally charged with attempting to sell copies of confidential whistleblower lawsuits to two separate companies plans to plead guilty later this month, his lead defense lawyer said Thursday.

Jeffrey Wertkin, who joined Akin Gump as a partner in 2016 after nearly six years as a trial lawyer in the fraud section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, was arrested in January, accused of scheming to sell a copy of a sealed False Claims Act case to an unnamed company based in Sunnyvale for $310,000. A superseding criminal complaint, filed in San Francisco federal court on Wednesday, describes a second confidential lawsuit that Wertkin allegedly made an effort to exchange with an Oregon-based company for a fee.

Wertkin's lawyer, high-profile criminal defense attorney Cristina Arguedas of Arguedas, Cassman & Headley, said that her client accepts responsibility for his actions and “will be entering a guilty plea later this month” in the criminal case against him.

“Jeff has led a hardworking and honorable life for many years. In a lapse of judgment, he made bad choices,” Arguedas said in an email. “He takes full responsibility and is doing his best to make amends.”

The superseding information filed against Wertkin includes three separate counts—two for obstruction of justice and a third for interstate transport of stolen goods. The two obstruction of justice counts each carries prison sentences of up to five years, while the transport of stolen goods charge carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

The prosecution's latest filing differs in some respects from an original criminal complaint lodged in early February, which only alleged obstruction of justice and contempt of court.

Prosecutors accuse Wertkin of using his position in the DOJ's civil fraud section to access and remove copies of two separate qui tam, or whistleblower, actions that had been filed under seal in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in early 2016. Wertkin had left the DOJ that year, before joining Akin Gump in April 2016 as a partner focused on False Claims Act litigation.

Using a fake name, Wertkin allegedly first contacted a high-ranking employee at the California-based company in November 2016. After several months, he arranged a Jan. 31 meeting, in which he believed he would provide the company with a copy of the sealed lawsuit in exchange for $310,000.

The alleged plot didn't end well for Wertkin, according to court documents. He wore a wig to the planned Jan. 31 meeting at a Hilton Garden Inn in Cupertino and then handed over a full copy of the false claims suit to the person he had arranged to meet. That person, however, turned out to be an undercover agent from the FBI who had been tipped off by the California company, according to the original criminal complaint against Wertkin. When he was taken into custody, the former DOJ and Akin Gump lawyer told an arresting officer, “My life is over.”

The superseding information filed on Wednesday also alleges that Wertkin engaged in a similar plot, starting on Jan. 23, involving a second confidential lawsuit and a separate company based in Oregon.

After Wertkin's arrest, Akin Gump issued a statement expressing shock and disappointment at the charges, and stated it took swift action to end his role at the firm. Also in the wake of the charges, whistleblower lawyers who had contact with Wertkin at the DOJ reacted with bewilderment, describing him as hardworking, family-minded and as an accomplished trial lawyer.