Former Nixon Peabody Partner Charged with Altering Documents to Protect Client
A former Nixon Peabody partner is accused in a federal criminal indictment of altering investor documents to conceal a client’s misconduct.
David Tamman is accused of changing offering documents to depict his client, John Farahi, as being up-front with real-estate investors, the Los Angeles Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports. The charges include obstruction of justice and falsification of records in connection with a federal investigation. Tamman could be sentenced to up to 190 years in prison if he is convicted.
Federal prosecutors claim Tamman altered private placement memoranda to suggest Farahi was authorized to transfer investor funds to his personal accounts, the story says. The indictment alleges Farahi, president of NewPoint Financial Services Inc., defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.
Tamman took pre-emptive action this fall when he filed a lawsuit claiming Nixon Peabody tried to pin the entire blame on him while seeking to distance itself from the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The suit said Tamman was “thrown under the bus.”
A Nixon Peabody spokesman said at the time that the firm fired Tamman when it learned he was under investigation and he was unable to explain his actions. The firm said it was cooperating with the SEC.
