A disbarred California lawyer who described himself as “a completely broken man” was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison Thursday for defrauding clients out of $5.5 million—then fleeing to Costa Rica “with his cars and horses,” prosecutors said.

Philip James Layfield, 48, who operated the law firm Layfield & Barrett in California, Utah and Arizona, has been in jail since a jury convicted him in August 2021 of mail fraud, three tax charges and 19 counts of wire fraud following a 13-day trial.

U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the Central District of California. (Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)