Disbarred Florida Legal professional Indicted on Racketeering Costs in NFL Instances

A workers’ compensation plaintiffs attorney and personal injury attorney who represented NFL players in concussion litigation has been charged with allegedly defrauding clients of millions of dollars, the latest legal action in decades. years against man.

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced last week that Phillip Timothy Howard, 61, was charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. The Tallahassee attorney has made headlines in recent years after allegedly enticing former NFL players and others to invest millions through his investment firms. But prosecutors said the funds were improperly invested, were not producing returns and were being used for personal gain.

His investment companies included Cambridge Capital Group and Cambridge Wealth Advisors, the 26-page indictment notes.

Howard, who has denied wrongdoing, was disbarred in March 2022 after allegedly misusing client funds, and his law firm was closed. This stems from the case of Jason Hall, who was seriously injured in a workplace accident in 2006.

The Florida Bar filed a complaint against Howard, alleging that after the attorney helped Hall settle his workers’ compensation case for more than $612,000, he misled Hall into signing documents that placed the funds in the account. operation of the Howard law firm. There, the money was misappropriated or mixed with Howard’s personal funds, the bar association charged.

“The defendant failed to provide Jason Hall with the opportunity to open a separate interest-bearing trust account in his name,” reads the law society’s complaint. “Instead, he explained that he would be better able to negotiate discounts on unpaid medical bills and personal debts and would provide funds to Jason and Dana (Hall’s wife) as needed. from its operating account.

Howard also provided false accounting of settlement funds and third-party medical liens, claiming that bills already paid by third parties should be deducted from settlement funds, the complaint noted. It also allegedly charged excessive fees for settlement efforts.

The federal indictment was decided by a grand jury in October but was not announced by prosecutors until December 1. Howard was released until his trial, scheduled for January 30, 2023 in federal court in Tallahassee. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and may have to forfeit property in Leon and Duval counties. Others were involved in the schemes, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Howard in 2019, alleging the lawyer and Cambridge president defrauded impaired NFL players through bogus investment plans. In 2021, a federal court permanently barred Cambridge businesses from engaging in investment activities and reimbursing ill-gotten gains and interest.

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