LAT: 1995 Suit May Be Focus in Milberg Weiss Probe

[DeepModem Mom]

1995 Suit May Be Focus in Milberg Weiss Probe
Prosecutors have granted immunity to several participants in the case brought by the law firm, sources say.

By Myron Levin and Molly Selvin, Times Staff Writers


It was a seemingly routine shareholder lawsuit that attracted little attention when it was filed in 1995. Investors claimed that a Downey-based medical group had offered shares to the public without warning that its plans to buy another company were falling apart.

Settled years ago, the suit has become a focus in the federal government's probe of lawyers who represented the plaintiffs — top class-action law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman of New York.

People familiar with the Milberg investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the government has granted immunity to several participants in the 1995 lawsuit to gain their cooperation. Prosecutors have declined to say why the 1995 case has drawn their interest, or even to confirm that it has.

The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles has been investigating allegations that Milberg lawyers paid kickbacks to people who served as ready-made plaintiffs in securities class actions, and that participants also may have lied in court proceedings or tax filings to cover up the practice.

No one at Milberg has been charged. But prosecutors have informed top partners Melvyn I. Weiss and David Bershad and ex-partner William S. Lerach that they are targets, say people close to the investigation....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-milberg17nov17,0,626667.story?coll=la-home-business