After a six-year investigation, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have indicted the New York securities class action firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman and two of its name partners.

The charges against partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman of conspiring to make illegal payments to clients in class actions — and to conceal those payments — have been widely expected for months, and the two partners took a leave of absence from the firm last week.