Another NY Lawyer Down, Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering, Conspiracy

Ex-Baker Partner Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering, Conspiracy
The Wall Street Journal  -  May 21, 2012

Martin Weisberg, a former Baker & McKenzie securities lawyer, pleaded guilty Monday to money laundering and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, Justice Department officials said.  Mr. Weisberg was charged with money laundering in connection with the alleged theft of $1.3 million from a corporate client’s escrow account. The conspiracy charge stemmed from allegations that he took kickbacks as part of a scheme to illegally profit from stock transactions involving two of Mr. Weisberg’s clients, said Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office, in a statement.  Mr. Weisberg was a lawyer at the now-defunct Jenkens & Gilchrist at the time of the conduct for which he was charged with conspiracy. He joined Baker in 2005. The theft accusations concern his time as an escrow agent for a group of related companies known as SIAM from August 2006 to October 2007, when he resigned from Baker.  Mr. Weisberg entered his plea in U.S. district court in Brooklyn before Judge Nicholas Garaufis. Mr. Weisberg faces as many as 10 years in prison on the money laundering charge and five years in prison on the securities fraud conspiracy charge.  Mr. Weisberg’s lawyer, George A. Stamboulidis of Baker &  Hostetler LLP, didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment. A spokesman for Baker &  McKenzie didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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