Embezzlement and fake cancer claims

In Southern California, attorney Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez (State Bar No. #318157) was disbarred for misappropriating more than $116,000 and using some of the funds to support his gambling habit. Officials say Ramirez attempted to cover his tracks by claiming he was terminally ill with cancer, all to explain any delays in work for his clients. The disbarment follows the recommendation of Judge Yvette D. Roland, filed in July 2023.

Disbarment is entirely appropriate in this case.”?

Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said: “Mr. Valdovinos Ramirez 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. Disbarment is entirely appropriate in this case.” 

Clients’ money fueled his gambling habits

Ramirez would often run his bank accounts dry, then use the money from clients to fund his gambling habits. The court review department described Valdovinos Ramirez’s misuse of clients’ funds as “unrelenting,” saying he would use their money for his own purposes as soon as it was in his account.

For example, the State Bar Association cites one case where Ramirez siphoned advance fees totaling almost $74,000 that should have been used to support a client’s representation in a conservatorship matter. In a second example, the attorney was supposed to represent a person filing a discrimination case against their employer, but Ramirez not only never filed a case, KTLA5 reports that “he provided the client with a fake case number and told them that the case had been settled for $58k.”

All might have gone unnoticed, but Ramirez covered the claimed settlement by writing checks to the client without “money in his accounts to cover the checks.”

the now-disbarred attorney did not provide any documentation to prove he had terminal cancer

In addition, the now-disbarred attorney did not provide any documentation to prove he had terminal cancer. Ramirez claimed he was being treated by Dr. Stephen Chang at City of Hope, one of America’s largest and most well-known cancer research and treatment organizations, but he was never included as a patient. Further, records show that Dr. Stephen Chang is as non-existent as Ramirez’s cancer.

Attorney issued empty checks in cover-up

The ruling reads, in part: “This misconduct was exacerbated by the additional dishonesty in which he engaged. Valdovinos Ramirez lied to his clients to stall the discovery of his misappropriation and failure to follow through on work he had assured clients he performed… A key part of this cover-up was to issue numerous checks with insufficient funds to several clients, again breaching the fundamental rule of ethics, which is honesty.”

The disbarment order requires Ramirez to pay five of his former clients nearly $117,000 in restitution, plus 10% interest.