This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Lawyer criminals rather than criminal lawyers
Recently for Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, I covered some legal stories where police officers did some horrible things. Of course just because you’re a police officer, that does not make you moral, honest or ethical or not a criminal. Same goes for lawyers. Both lawyers and police officers have higher ethical standards to maintain. Some lawyers and some police officers fall far below those standards and go further, committing crimes. This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we are going to look at some fairly notorious cases where the lawyers were not just unethical but criminal.
The B.C. lawyer who killed his client
The lawyer-client relationship falls apart from time to time. Often it’s a fundamental dispute about how to proceed in acting for the client. Those cases, where the client wants the lawyer to do something unethical, for example, are fairly common. Occasionally it’s a dispute over fee payment. Money issues are at the heart of many disputes. That’s just part of the human story.
Just a few weeks ago, former lawyer from Kamloops, Rogelio Bagabuyo, was convicted of first degree murder for killing his client, a lecturer named Mohd Abdullah. Apparently Mr. Bagabuyo and his client concocted a scheme to hide money from his client’s wife as the two were headed toward divorce. The idea was that the lawyer would stash the money in some way, apparently partially in his trust account, although not all the facts are clear, with the intention of returning it to him in some way after the divorce was finalized.
I would note that if a client approached a lawyer with such instructions, that would be the moment for the lawyer, if he could not discourage his client from that course of action, to end the relationship immediately. There are many ways that this scheme could go awry. It seems so foolish from the start that one wonders how a lawyer could have thought this was a feasible course of action, regardless of its impropriety. Nevertheless Mr. Bagabuyo took the money into his possession and then apparently spent it on himself.
Sometimes lawyers do stupid things. Worse though, was that when his client approached him seeking the return of his money, the client discovered that it was long-ago spent.
The two of them had concocted a scheme to commit a fraud. One of them had failed to uphold his part of the bargain. That likely led to some friction. Mr. Bagabuyo killed his client to avoid repaying and to hide the fraud. Then he amateurishly tried to hide the murder. Now he has a life sentence without parole for 25 years.
The Murdaugh Mysteries
Alex Murdaugh was one of the most prominent members of the South Carolina bar. His family was considered one of the most powerful in the state. The family home was on an expansive plot of land. He was known to be a man of old money, accustomed to his wealth, privilege, and status. His reputation among the bar was mixed, with some people characterizing him as arrogant, apparently viewing himself as untouchable.
When his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, were murdered in June 2021, the scene gave the impression that it may have been a botched hit where Alex was the actual target. When Alex was charged, this was the defense that had been floated even before the trial. It partially fit with the prosecutor’s theory.
At trial the prosecutors argued that Alex Murdaugh carried out the killings to distract attention from his widespread financial crimes, including stealing millions of dollars from his clients, his law firm, and others to feed an opioid addiction and maintain a lavish lifestyle. Of course if this is the type of lifestyle you’re leading, it wouldn’t be surprising if you were the intended target of a murderous plot such as this.
I think there was merit to his defense. He was nevertheless convicted. I watched some of the trial on live feed because it was discussed a lot by my American lawyer friends. I’ve heard since that there were improprieties of some sort by the clerk and court staff. Alex Murdaugh, rightly or wrongly, had earned a poor reputation among some court workers and there are reports that derogatory comments about him were uttered by court workers to jurors.
Alex Murdaugh continues to advance appeals although thus far he has been denied a new trial. My understanding is that even last week further arguments were heard. I’m not sure if this was with respect to the alleged jury misconduct or the evidence that had been put before the court regarding his alleged financial crimes, which may have unfairly swayed the jury.
It seems to me that the alleged financial crimes would have had too significant of a prejudicial effect on the minds of the jury. A man is not likely to kill his family to hide financial crimes. If anything, a murder, even a hit by somebody else, would likely shed light on the individual. And although there are many instances of a father killing their children, it’s usually a murder followed by a suicide and the children are small. I’m not saying that he didn’t commit this crime but the possibility of a hit and the theory of the prosecution causes me to have some concerns.
There are entire documentaries on this case. The twists and turns are fascinating and weird enough to justify being categorized as weird and wacky on a Wednesday.
Less murder, more money
If you’re of a certain age and interested in the law, chances are you saw the film “Erin Brockovich” starring Julia Roberts. It’s based on a true story. In the film Brockovich ends up working for the lawyer she had hired to help her with her accident claim. She begins to investigate a cover up involving contaminated water, which had been making local residents very ill. This has led to a class action that was settled for hundreds of millions of dollars and some significant legal changes.
A lawyer on the legal team for the plaintiffs was Tom Girardi. Last year he was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after being convicted of wire fraud for stealing roughly $15 million from his clients. Prosecutors said he misused settlement funds meant for his clients’ benefit, and diverted large sums for personal use. A judge ordered millions in restitution. His downfall became one of the most notorious legal scandals in US legal history partly because of his previous public stature and the scale of his fraud.
If I had been his lawyer on the criminal case, I might have been thinking, “At least he didn’t kill somebody.” But of course I would never have said that. Unless he gave me those instructions.
Take care. Tune in next week for some more weird and wacky legal stories.
