Overview
- Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez pleaded guilty to three counts of grand theft by embezzlement and one count of insufficient checking funds in a plea filed Monday that prosecutors say covers thefts from 2019 to 2023.
- Prosecutors allege Ramirez diverted more than $300,000 in client settlement funds to pay for a gambling habit and issued multiple checks that later bounced.
- Under the plea agreement he agreed to pay $50,000 before sentencing, to at least $310,000 in restitution and he admitted a special allegation that losses exceeded $100,000.
- Ramirez was disbarred after State Bar findings of ethical violations related to misusing client funds and now faces up to two years in state prison at a September 21 sentencing hearing.
- The case highlights how bar discipline and criminal prosecution can follow when attorneys misuse client settlement money, and victims still must await restitution orders and the court’s final prison term determination.