Class-action plaintiff enters guilty pleas

A man prosecutors say was paid about $2.6 million to be a professional plaintiff who helped a New York law firm get lucrative class-action lawsuits pleaded guilty Thursday to obstruction of justice and two other charges.

After reaching a plea deal, Seymour Lazar, 80, of Palm Springs appeared before U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of subscribing to a false tax return and making a false declaration.

Asked by the judge if he understood he was pleading guilty voluntarily, Lazar responded, “Totally.”

He also agreed to forfeit $1.5 million and pay $600,000 in fines.

Lazar faces as many as 18 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28, but prosecutors have recommended home detention because of his declining health and his age.

Lazar was the latest person to plead guilty in a seven-year federal investigation that accuses the firm, previously known as Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, of secretly paying $11.3 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in more than 225 class-action and shareholder lawsuits.

Prosecutors believe the firm now known as Milberg Weiss made an estimated $250 million by filing lawsuits against some of the nation’s largest companies.

Among those who have pleaded guilty are former partners Steven Schulman and David Bershad and top attorney William Lerach.

Co-founder Melvyn Weiss has been indicted on two counts of conspiracy and one count each of obstruction of justice and making false statements. Weiss, 72, pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday.