California Supremes Yank Attorney's Law License After Theft Conviction In Connection With $500K Lawsuit Settlement Received On Behalf Of Client Left Permanently Disabled & Unable To Work Following Car Accident

In Los Angeles, California, the Northern California Record reports:

• Attorney Edward Joseph Callow, who practiced law in Seattle and was licensed in California, was disbarred on Jan. 6 following his conviction on several felony charges involving theft of his client’s insurance settlement and money laundering.
  
  Callow was charged on Dec. 12 along with a former Nationwide Insurance associate Fariborz (Romeo) Rahrovi with theft in the first degree, perjury, money laundering and “obtaining a signature by duress.”
  
  According to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer account, Callow was hired to represent a client in an insurance claim following a car accident that left him permanently disabled and unable to work. Nationwide Insurance reportedly paid the victim $500,000 including a $25,000 advance. However, the client only received $165,000, and Callow provided Rahrovi with $135,000 for his help in the scheme. Callow took the remaining funds for himself.(1)
  
  The fraud was discovered by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who is investigating Callow’s practices further to determine if the attorney swindled any other clients.

Source: Seattle attorney disbarred in California after defrauding disabled client out of insurance settlement.

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(1) The California State Bar's Client Security Fund is a discretionary fund that can reimburse clients who have lost money or property due to theft or dishonesty by a California lawyer. It is a State Bar program funded entirely by California lawyers. The amount the fund may reimburse for theft committed by a California lawyer depends on when the loss occurred. A maximum of $50,000 is reimbursable if the loss occurred before January 1, 2009. A maximum of $100,000 is reimbursable if the loss occurred on or after January 1, 2009.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (February 2017) (includes Canadian recovery funds, courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.