News Flash: Committing Fraud Instead Of Finding Clients Isn't The Time Save You Think It Is

There are a lot of potential defendants with deep pockets that need to be held accountable for ADA violations. Elon Musk's ham-fisted response to an HR inquiry is a high-profile one, but that is far from the only one. In the name of all that is legal, why then would someone file fake ADA complaints? Litigation leaves paper trails, and you'd think an attorney would factor that in before they commit serial mail fraud. From Reuters:

A Florida lawyer was sentenced to four years in federal prison for mail fraud on Thursday after prosecutors in New York said he filed hundreds of fraudulent disability lawsuits using stolen identities.

U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan also ordered Stuart Finkelstein, 68, to pay a $200,000 fine and forfeit more than $640,000.

Prosecutors said Finkelstein filed nearly 300 Florida and New York federal lawsuits on behalf of two plaintiffs who purportedly visited public establishments but could not enter them because they were not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

But the plaintiffs never retained Finkelstein as an attorney or even visited the establishments, prosecutors said.

What is this, a Better Call Saul episode? Speaking of, whenever I see nonsense like this, only one question comes to mind:

Is it the thrill? Because while I've heard very good things about the endorphin rush you get from skydiving, even the most expensive jumps will cost less than the $200k fine Finkelstein is going to have to make good on. Is it for the quick money? Because once you factor in the jail time, you'd have probably been better off representing actual clients instead of the ones you pretended to.

I get the appeal of being able to say "You don't need a criminal lawyer, you need a criminal lawyer!" but some things are better left to television. Next time you're thinking about some extra cash, just focus on your networking and billables.

Lawyer Behind Hundreds Of Fake Disability Lawsuits Gets Four-Year Sentence [Reuters]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord(TM) in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.