Jennifer Lieser

Recent Notable Matters

Attorney Charged in Illegal Referral and Kickbacks Scheme - Case Dismissed

Attorney client was charged in an illegal referral and kickbacks scheme. Over the course of more than six years, we challenged by demurrer each charging instrument and succeeded, leaving the district attorney with little choice other than to recharge using a different mechanism. After the demurrer, the Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice, foreclosing the District Attorney the ability to recharge. The District Attorney did not appeal the decision.

Federal Criminal Case Dismissed

Luxury designer handbags importer/exporter client was accused of the illegal importation of hundreds of luxury bags worth more than half a million dollars as part of an international scheme in which false customs declarations were submitted in the importation of hundreds of Hermes bags from Europe and Asia, cheating the government out of significant duties. But the case began collapsing once we conducted our own investigation and litigated the actual falsity of the declarations which ultimately challenged the materiality requirement for the false statement regarding the bags’ actual values to Customs, a highly technical issue. We argued that the bags still would have entered the United States even if there were no false statements and thus the crimes, as charged, did not actually occur. After nearly six years of litigation and negotiation, the government moved to dismiss the case which the Court granted.

Notably Favorable Varsity Blues Plea Deal

Client was the highest-ranking administrator indicted in the Varsity Blues college admission scandal. In this RICO, mail, and wire fraud case, the offenses carried up to 19 years in prison in what was said to be the largest college admissions scandal ever. Due to successful motions practice the Court significantly curtailed the government theories of prosecution and altogether dismissed the property fraud counts. 10 days before the trial was scheduled to begin in November 2021, a plea deal was reached wherein Dr. Heinel pled guilty to a single count of wire fraud. Dr. Heinel was sentenced to six months in custody. This term was significantly less than many other defendants with far less culpability.

Workers Comp Fraud Case Dismissed

Client was charged with workers compensation fraud for failure to pay workers compensation premiums for his employees. The charges alleged losses in excess of half a million dollars. We researched and investigated the issue and presented compelling evidence to the District Attorney. After consideration of that evidence, the LA District Attorney dismissed the case.

Client Sentenced to Probation

Our client was indicted in September 2015 with multiple counts of money laundering, capping, and tax fraud in what the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office described as a “$150M insurance fraud." Read press release. Over the course of the next two years, a series of hearings on motions to dismiss would take place in which we would strategically dismantle the case. Ultimately, all the money laundering counts (10 total), all the capping counts (2 total), and all the tax fraud counts (4 total) were dismissed by the court. Faced with the likelihood of having the final single conspiracy count dismissed, the District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case in its entirety only to refile a severely scaled-down criminal complaint charging only the money laundering and conspiracy counts. After exposing the weaknesses in the prosecution, the case was resolved for a $5,000 restitution payment and two years’ probation.