Two Milberg Kickback Defendants Set to Report to Prison

Amanda Bronstad

The National Law Journal

Two defendants convicted in the criminal kickback case against Milberg, former partner Steven Schulman and Howard J. Vogel, a former lead plaintiff represented by the New York firm, are scheduled to report to federal prison this week.

Both were sentenced as part of a lengthy investigation in which federal prosecutors alleged that Milberg and several of its current and former partners obtained $251 million in attorney fees by paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. The firm agreed to pay $75 million to settle charges last year.

Schulman, who pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge, was sentenced to six months in prison. He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence on Tuesday, according to court documents.

Vogel, who served as a plaintiff in 40 of the firm's cases, is scheduled to begin serving three months in prison on Wednesday.

David Bershad, another former partner, recently began serving six months in prison. Last year, former partner William Lerach and Melvyn Weiss, co-founding partner of Milberg, began serving separate sentences of 24 months and 30 months, respectively.

Another defendant, Steven G. Cooperman, who served as a lead plaintiff for Milberg, recently began serving a sentence of four months.

A former lawyer who served as an intermediary in the scheme, Richard Purtich, who was sentenced to two months in prison, was released on Nov. 20.

A former Milberg expert, John B. Torkelsen, was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to lying to a federal judge. He previously was serving a prison sentence in a separate case.

Two other defendants, former Milberg plaintiff Seymour Lazar, and his former lawyer, Paul Selzer, did not receive prison sentences as part of their plea deals with the government.