Taking Money From a Client Trust Account Warrants Severe Disciplinary Sanction
Post number 5383
Stealing from a Client is Reprehensible
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lawyer-state-senator-permanently-disbarred-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-ixf9e and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5350 posts.
In Re: Derrick D.T. Shepherd, No. 2026-OB-00357, Supreme Court of Louisiana (June 25, 2026) petitioner Derrick D.T. Shepherd, a former Louisiana State Senator and attorney, pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiracy to commit money laundering after using his client trust account to help launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees. The Louisiana Supreme Court permanently disbarred him in 2012.
Shepard returned $75,000 to Ms. Moyo and kept the rest of the funds for himself, using $20,000 to retire his campaign debt. To conceal all of this activity, Shepard created false billing statements and time records reflecting work his law firm had purportedly done on behalf of his “client,” Ms. Moyo.
FACTS
Shepherd later sought relief from the permanent disbarment order in 2020, 2023, and again in 2026, requesting reconsideration and an evidentiary hearing on mitigation, rehabilitation, and sanction.
LAW
The principal legal framework is Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 10, which authorizes permanent disbarment in cases of especially egregious attorney misconduct and as described in the court’s commentary, bars an attorney permanently disbarred under those circumstances from applying for readmission.
DISCUSSION
Chief Justice Weimer focused on two related concerns: the finality of Shepherd’s permanent disbarment and the propriety of representation by a former justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
ANALYSIS
The concurrence reasons that Shepherd’s request would effectively relitigate a sanction the court had definitively imposed in 2012 and emphasized that permanent disbarment was adopted as a deliberate public-protection measure.
CONCLUSION
The Louisiana Supreme Court denied Shepherd’s application for rehearing and underscored the importance of preserving public confidence in the legal profession and avoiding any appearance that former judicial status or personal connections could influence court outcomes.
ZALMA OPINION
Lawyers are expected to be honorable and care more for his client than his personal needs. A lawyer who steals from his client violates the basic oath he or she takes on being admitted to practice law. When attorney Shepard stole from Ms. Moyo and an insurer he put into motion the destruction of his career.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Post 5407
Fraud & the Fear of Bad Faith Suits
Posted on July 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
After ...
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Post 5397
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See the video and at https://lnkd.in/gNUs2XzT and at https://lnkd.in/g2MawyzX
Magistrate Issues a Search Warrant if there is a Fair Probability that Contraband or Evidence of a Crime will be Found in a Particular Place.
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As part of the investigation, the FBI obtained an August 19, 2022 warrant to search Driscoll’s Sterling Pharmacy Yahoo email account for emails from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. Driscoll moved to suppress the resulting evidence, arguing that the warrant lacked probable cause, was overbroad, and rested on material misstatements and omissions.
LAW:
The ...
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Post 5396
See the video and at https://rumble.com/v7ctgmq-the-great-jewel-theft.html at https://youtu.be/aRbQ2sJfGwA
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ¬¬¬Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
The Insured purchased, for the first time in his life, a policy of Personal Articles Floater Insurance (PAF) scheduling $125,000 worth of ladies jewelry. He advised the insurer that the jewelry was always kept in a class E safe at his residence. He also told the insurer that he was employed full time as the owner of a gasoline service station and that he had never been canceled or suffered a previous loss.
One month after the policy was ...
Specific Jurisdiction is Related to an Activity Conducted Within the Forum State.
Post 5408
Posted on July 23, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company v. Changan Chu, No. 14-25-00965-CV, Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District (July 21, 2026) NJM issued an automobile insurance policy in New Jersey to Changan Chu while Chu was a New Jersey resident.
Chu was injured in an auto-pedestrian collision in Harris County, Texas, allegedly caused by an uninsured driver. Chu sued the driver and NJM, seeking a declaration that his UM/UIM coverage was in force and provided $300,000 in limits. NJM filed a special appearance supported by affidavit evidence showing it was a New Jersey corporation with its principal place of business in New Jersey, had no offices, agents, employees, advertising, registration, or insurance business in Texas, and did not insure any person, property, or risk located in Texas. Chu did not file evidence opposing the special appearance.
LAW
A Texas court may exercise ...
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Post 5398
Posted on July 21, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Cross-Claim Against Fraudsters Successful
In Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center, Inc., et al. v. Health Net, Inc., et al., Health Net Life Insurance Company, B331260, California Court of Appeals, Second District, Third Division (July 16, 2026) a trial verdict in favor of Health Net and against Sovereign, a network of mental health and substance use disorder treatment centers, and Health Net, Inc., Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company, and Managed Health Network, Inc. (collectively, Health Net) was appealed to the California Court of Appeals.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Between 2014 and 2016, Sovereign submitted claims to Health Net for medical care provided to more than 400 patients. Health Net paid some claims but rejected many others. Sovereign, as the patients' assignee, sued Health Net for breach of contract, insurance bad faith, and breach of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)....
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Post number 5395
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In Vivian Maritza Triana Marin, Sebastian Arroyave Penagos, and Daniel Arroyave Penagos v. Marc J. Paynter and Transport Marc Paynter Inc., No. 23-CV-6498, United States District Court, E.D. New York (July 10, 2026) Plaintiffs sued Defendants in diversity after a rear-end collision on the Whitestone Expressway in Queens, New York. Plaintiffs were in a Subaru driven by Vivian Maritza Triana Marin, while Defendant Marc J. Paynter drove a Transport Marc Paynter Inc. tractor-trailer.
Facts:
Dashcam footage from Defendants’ vehicle showed Plaintiffs’ vehicle braking suddenly in the left lane despite an open roadway ahead. Marin could not identify a specific reason for braking, the passenger plaintiffs did not know why she braked, and a non-party witness testified that Plaintiffs’ vehicle stopped abruptly for no apparent reason.
The Accident occurred when ...
