JACKSONVILLE, FLA--- U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, the senior Senator from
Florida, is seeking re-election in 2006. Records reveal Nelson's campaign
received thousands of dollars in contributions in the years 2003 through
2005 from the principals of a Jacksonville law firm who admit it
overcharged
its personal injury clients by $130,000 around the same period.
The law firm in question is FARAH, FARAH & ABBOTT, P.A. (a/k/a The Law
Offices of Eddie Farah). According to the firm's web site, it is now known
as the Law Offices of Farah & Farah, P.A. The principals in the firm are
Eddie Farah and his brother, Charlie ("Chuck") E. Farah.
The Law Offices of Eddie Farah employed Florida attorney Jeffrey R. Hill
in
2004 when he discovered it was regularly overcharging its personal injury
clients by substantial sums. Hill says, "The firm was often 'padding'
costs
charged to clients by $300 or more per case and had been doing so for
several years. Clients were required to sign settlement statements
certifying they agreed with the falsified figures before any ****tion of
their settlement funds would be paid to them. The firm's fee contracts,
accounting records and settlement statements clearly do***ent its
overcharging practices."
Attorneys admit this law firm overcharged clients by $130,000 in the years
2002 through 2004. John A. Weiss, Esq. of Tallahassee represented Eddie
and
Chuck Farah, before the Bar. Weiss admitted the firm's overcharges in a
Sept. 22, 2005 letter to The Bar stating,
"As an aside, I would advise you that the firm has refunded in excess of
$120,000.00 ... to those clients who were inadvertently overcharged for
costs. Approximately $10,000.00 remains undisbursed because the firm, and
the private investigator it subsequently hired, could not find the
individuals."
Hill observes, "That certainly sounds like a lot of money to be
'inadvertently' overcharged. The firm would have to overcharge 400 clients
by $300 each to reach $120,000."
Even The Florida Bar's own audit of the firm's trust account confirmed
$130,000 in overcharges and a lack of substantial compliance with Bar
rules
governing trust acounts in the years 2002 through 2004.
Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner James F. Wells
prepared the re****t following his audit of Farah's trust account records
and
procedures. Wells' Audit Re****t noted,
"Administrative costs that were not substantiated by do***entary evidence
were charged on some settlement statements in personal injury cases. These
administrative costs were in excess of the do***ented costs such as
copies,
faxes and postage. Rule 5-1.2(b)(4) requires do***entary sup****t for all
disbursements from the trust account. These costs were not authorized by
the
clients."
In discussing corrective action taken, Wells stated,
"The firm reviewed client files and settlement statements to determine the
specific clients that had been charged unsubstantiated administrative
costs.
Refunds totaling approximately $130,000, including interest, were issued
to
those clients."
Wells concluded,
"In my opinion, Mr. Farah's trust accounting records and procedures in
connection with the do***entation of costs paid from trust funds during
the
period from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2004 were not in
substantial compliance with The Florida Bar's rules governing trust
accounts." (Emphasis supplied).
Online records show Nelson's campaign received
$2,500 each from Eddie Farah and Chuck Farah on Jun. 6, 2005 for a total
of
$5,000 that year. Eddie Farah had apparently also contributed $1,000 to
Nelson's 2004 campaign on Dec. 9, 2003. Records for 2004 and 2006
campaigns
show the Farah brothers contributed thousands of dollars more to Federal
Democratic candidates John Kerry, Betty Castor, Patrick Leahy, Corrine
Brown
and Debbie Stabenow.
The source of the funds contributed by the Farahs remains in question.
Copyright © 2006 by Jeffrey R. Hill. All rights reserved.
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"Hill's Peek at Lawyer Misconduct":
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