‘Alliance’ Attorney Admits to Insurance Fraud
A seventh figure in the “Alliance” attorney fraud case pleaded guilty to mail fraud Thursday, saying he helped a ring of Los Angeles lawyers bilk insurance companies by making litigation “as complex, convoluted and extended as possible.”
Gar C. May, 49, a La Jolla optometrist and businessman, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Judith N. Keep. Each count is punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
In a statement he read in court, May said he got kickbacks from two San Fernando Valley lawyers who defended him in lawsuits at insurance company expense. And he said he scouted the San Diego area on the lawyers’ behalf for other insured parties who could be sued and have their legal fees paid by insurers.
“The Alliance” is a nickname some of the members of the group purportedly used for themselves and which federal authorities now use.
The lawyers, from the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles, appeared together in a number of complex civil cases in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties from about 1984 to 1988. Prosecutors and insurance company lawyers say they may have billed up to $200 million in the cases.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
