The indictments make repeated references to Schwartz, although he isn't among the defendants in the newest case. That person and their personal injury law firm are identified only as "Individual A" and "Entity A."įranklin and Sitto were among six defendants in the indictments handed down Dec. The operator of a third Southfield-based law firm was described in last week's indictment as being involved in the scheme, although he or she isn't a defendant in the case and was not named. ![]() Both men entered not guilty pleas Monday and were released on $10,000 bonds. District Court in Flint on wire fraud charges. Sitto of Bloomfield Township, founding members and principals of Southfield-based Auto Accident Attorneys, whose website is , were indicted last week in U.S. Franklin III of Harrison Township and Brent F. ![]() Schwartz of Birmingham, the principal founder and managing partner of Southfield-based law firm Legal Genius, which runs frequent TV ads, pleaded guilty in October to two charges, including conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and is awaiting sentencing in U.S. He also allegedly paid cash for individuals to visit the homes of potential Legal Genius clients and secure client representation agreements.Top lawyers at two metro Detroit law firms took part in schemes to illegally obtain police reports of auto accidents and solicit the crash victims for legal and medical services, according to recent federal indictments and a plea agreement. He is also accused of diverting funds from Legal Genius, located in Southfield, Michigan, and depositing them to his own personal bank account. Schwartz’s conduct allegedly caused an additional tax due and owing to the IRS of between $250,000 and $550,000 for the tax years 2014 to 2018, the plea agreement says. Schwartz falsely told the IRS that he didn’t get anything out of the deal with the police reports, the plea agreement alleges. Schwartz received $7,500 to $10,000 each month to deliver the crash reports by email to the owner of USA Direct and the second person, along with 33% of the personal injury case referral fees, according to the plea agreement. The owner of the Accident Information Bureau retrieved the cash payments for the reports, which totaled $10,000 per month, from a barbecue grill in Schwartz’s backyard, according to the plea agreement. Schwartz was accused of buying the crash reports from the owner of the Accident Information Bureau and selling the reports to two people, including an owner of USA Direct, which advertised on behalf of health care providers and solicited individuals for medical and personal injury legal services. ![]() The scheme, which lasted nearly four years, ended in April 2018.Īccording to the plea agreement, two co-conspirators received $5,000 to $7,500 each month in exchange for delivering the police reports to a company called the Accident Information Bureau. Prosecutors alleged that Schwartz and other conspirators used the stolen crash reports to solicit accident victims for personal injury lawyers, chiropractors, health care professionals and other businesses. 15 to conspiring to defraud the IRS and to steal from an organization receiving federal funds, according to a Department of Justice press release. Lawyer Mathew Schwartz, a resident of Birmingham, Michigan, pleaded guilty Oct. A Michigan lawyer who ran the Legal Genius law firm has pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to steal nonpublic traffic crash reports from the Detroit Police Department.
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