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Experienced Lawyer Claiming Ignorance of Law Is No Defense\\n\\nPHOTOCOPY COMPANY ACTED AS A PASS THROUGH TO PAY THE CAPPER\\n\\nRobert Irving Slater was a practicing worker\'s compensation attorney \\nwhen he entered into an agreement with the owner of USA Photocopy who \\npaid a third party to perform intake interviews with clients of \\ndefendant\'s practice, saving a significant amount of his the lawyer\'s \\nown employees time and money. In exchange, defendant used USA \\nPhotocopy\'s services during all workers\' compensation proceedings on \\nthose cases.\\n\\nThe law prohibits referring workers\' compensation clients for \\nremuneration. Defendant was ultimately convicted of conspiracy, \\nsubmitting false and fraudulent claims against insurers, and 21 counts \\nof insurance fraud. He was sentenced to probation for two years in The \\nPeople v. Robert Irving Slater, G061331, California Court of Appeals, \\nFourth District, Third Division (July 17, 2023) and appealed his \\nconviction.\\n\\nFACTS\\n\\nUSA Photocopy provided attorney services, including photocopying and \\nsending subpoenas for records for workers\' compensation cases. The \\ncompany would then bill insurance carriers for its services\\n\\nPeter Ayala worked as a "legal investigator performing intake services."\\n Ayala\'s role was to meet with the potential "workers\' compensation \\nclient to fill out the intake retainer . . . and also get the retainer \\nsigned for the claim."\\n\\nAyala estimated he performed intake services for about 2,000 clients for\\n defendant, and USA Photocopy was the only copy service used for those \\nclients. Ayala did not perform any service for USA Photocopy other than \\nthe services he performed for the lawyer defendant.\\n\\nDefendant was convicted of conspiracy submitting a false and fraudulent \\nclaim; and 21 counts of insurance fraud based on concealing or failing \\nto disclose information that affects a person\'s right to an insurance \\nbenefit.\\n\\nVerdict and Sentencing\\n\\nThe jury convicted defendant on all 23 counts. The jury also found the \\nenhancement regarding the pattern of fraudulent conduct true. The court \\nsentenced defendant to serve a total of 183 days, with 182 of those days\\n suspended on the successful completion of two years of supervised \\nprobation. Six months of the probation term was to be served with an \\nankle bracelet. The court also ordered defendant to pay $356,175.24 in \\nvictim restitution in addition to statutory fines and fees.\\n\\nDISCUSSION\\n\\nIn reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, \\nthe Court of Appeal applied the test whether substantial evidence, of \\ncredible and solid value, supported the jury\'s conclusions. Appellate \\ncourts simply consider whether any rational trier of fact could have \\nfound the essential elements of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable\\n doubt.\\xa0 The standard of review is the same even when the case relies on\\n circumstantial evidence and the appellate court must accept logical \\ninferences that the jury might have drawn from that evidence.\\n\\nFurther, the very oddness of the scheme involved here - where Ayala was \\npaid by USA Photocopy, rather than by defendant himself - a type of \\nscheme the experienced workers\' compensation attorney and retired Judge \\nHernandez had never heard of - suggested that something was not \\naboveboard. The jury was entitled to infer from the oddity of the scheme\\n that defendant, as an experienced attorney, was aware it was illegal.\\n\\nZALMA OPINION\\n\\nSlater, an experienced lawyer, should have known - and the jury found he\\n did - that the scheme with the photocopy service and Mr. Ayala, was an \\nattempt to hide capping - causing insurers to pay for the illegal \\nreferrals to a lawyer of clients - a crime\\xa0 in California and most \\nstates. He received a kind sentence with no jail time and payment of \\nrestitution. If he doesn\'t pay it he will go to jail. Creativity in \\nhiding the scheme did not work and his conviction properly stands.\\n\\n(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.\\n