An attorney accused of stealing more than $300,000 from his clients to “fuel a gambling habit,” then faking a terminal cancer diagnosis to delay disciplinary action, has pleaded guilty, according to California officials.
Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez, 36, of Manhattan Beach pleaded guilty to three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement and one felony count of insufficient checking funds, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a July 21 news release.
Valdovinos Ramirez also admitted to one special allegation of committing a crime that resulted in $100,000 or more in losses, prosecutors said.
“The defendant duped and deceived his clients of funds that were earmarked for them only to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars of these funds gambling,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the release.
The case stems from Valdovinos Ramirez’s alleged conduct that led to his disbarment by the State Bar of California.
Attorney accused of ‘egregious acts of dishonesty’
Valdovinos Ramirez, who was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2017, was officially disbarred in October 2024, State Bar of California records show.
Valdovinos Ramirez’s disbarment came after he was found culpable of 19 ethical violations stemming from interactions with five clients, according to an opinion authored by the State Bar Court of California in June 2024. His ethical violations included misappropriating client funds, making false statements to clients, issuing checks with insufficient funds, and engaging in misconduct during disciplinary proceedings.
“This case is about an attorney’s egregious acts of dishonesty that occurred in his practice and continued through his disciplinary trial,” the court said in its opinion.
Under California State Bar regulations, attorneys are required to keep clients’ funds in an interest-bearing bank account, known as trust accounts.
Valdovinos Ramirez violated those rules, often moving clients’ funds to his own bank account and spending the money on personal expenses, the court said. Those expenses included Lyft rides, utility payments, and trips to restaurants and gas stations.
In two matters, Valdovinos Ramirez told clients he had reached settlements in their cases despite never filing lawsuits, officials said.
“Valdovinos Ramirez also wrote checks to his clients that bounced because there was very little to no money in his bank account,” according to the district attorney’s office.
With one client, Valdovinos Ramirez received nearly $74,000 in advance fees for a conservatorship case, officials said. He withdrew the money from the trust account or transferred it to his own bank account and used some of it to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of casino chips.
The client checked her case’s status at the courthouse and learned that Valdovinos Ramirez had done no work on the case. She requested Valdovinos Ramirez to refund her, according to the court.
“She made this request several times, but he did not return the money and informed her that he had cancer,” officials said.
In 2022, just before the Office of Chief Trial Counsel filed a notice of disciplinary charges against Valdovinos Ramirez, he notified the court he had cancer, officials said.
During the disciplinary proceedings, Valdovinos Ramirez repeatedly told the court that he was undergoing cancer treatment, officials said. The court granted Valdovinos Ramirez multiple extensions on the condition that he provide medical documentation of his ongoing treatment, but he never did.
A State Bar investigator later testified that he learned that the hospital where Valdovinos Ramirez said he was receiving treatment had no record of him as a patient and no physician by the name he provided, according to the court’s opinion.
“Mr. Valdovinos Ramirez cheated his clients out of their funds, in part, to feed his gambling habit. He then showed no remorse and lied about a life-threatening illness to avoid taking responsibility for his misconduct,” chief trial counsel George Cardona said in October 2024, KTLA 5 News reported. “Disbarment is entirely appropriate in this case.”
More on plea agreement
Per his plea agreement, Valdovinos Ramirez will have to pay $50,000 before his scheduled Sept. 21 sentencing hearing, “as well as pay at least $310,000 in restitution,” prosecutors said, adding that he will be sentenced to two years in prison.
“This truly was a house of cards that collapsed when law enforcement and State Bar officials learned about his duplicitous actions. He not only lost his ability to practice law but also must pay back the stolen money and serve time in prison as well,” Hochman said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: CA attorney accused of stealing $300K, faking cancer pleads guilty
Reporting by Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
