Manhattan Beach Lawyer Caught Defrauding Clients to Fuel Gambling Addiction

The California Supreme Court has officially disbarred a Manhattan Beach lawyer with the initials S.V.R. The man has been found guilty of defrauding his clients out of $117,000 to fund a gambling addiction. The court confirmed 19 instances of professional misconduct and admonished S.V.R.’s actions, which included fabricating a cancer diagnosis to elicit sympathy during his disciplinary hearing.

The Lawyer Defrauded Customers of Five-Figure Sums

S.V.R.’s disbarment follows a series of substantial ethical violations, including misappropriating client funds, issuing bad checks, providing false court information, and misrepresentation.  The disbarment was made official in June 2024, and the California Supreme Court signed off on that decision this September.

The attorney’s misconduct included repeatedly failing to represent his clients properly. Not only did S.V.R. fail to file claims on behalf of the clients, but he also obscured his actions by fabricating case numbers and court dates. Often, when clients either asked for a refund or expected settlement payments, the man issued checks, fully aware there were insufficient funds in his operating account.

In one particularly egregious case, he misappropriated nearly $74,000 in advance fees from a client involved in a conservatorship case. He did no actual court work and strung the client along by giving them fake court dates. By the time S.V.R. was dismissed from the case, the customer’s trust account had a balance of just 37 cents left.

He Suffered from Compulsive Gambling

S.V.R. also displayed his dishonesty during the disciplinary trial. To explain delays and non-responses, he made false statements that he had been receiving treatment for terminal cancer at the City of Hope, an internationally recognized cancer research center. It wasn’t long before investigators learned his cited oncologist did not exist, and he never provided records to verify his claims of illness.

Further investigation revealed the defendant suffered from a severe gambling addiction. Starting in February of 2021 and lasting until February 2023, S.V.R. had gambled away $886,535. His high-risk gambling behavior was well-documented, resulting in the court dismissing his application to appeal the verdict.

Mr. S.V.R. cheated his clients out of their funds, in part, to feed his gambling habit. He then showed no remorse and lied about a life-threatening illness to avoid taking responsibility for his misconduct.

Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona

In addition to his disbarment, the disgraced lawyer must pay restitution, plus 10% annual interest to five of his former clients, in addition to $5,000 in sanctions. This story, unfortunately, mirrors many other cases where individuals in positions of power abused other people’s trust and descended into a spiral of escalating gambling debt.