Media Coverage


Open Letter to Amazon Studios, Jamie Foxx, Robert Shriver, Jenette Kahn, Adam Richman, Datari Turner and Maggie Betts:

Please Pull the Plug on "The Burial"

Open Letter: 4/7/21

From: Ray Rogers, Director
Corporate Campaign, Inc. (NYC)
Campaign to Stop Legal Malpractice
718-852-2808
Visit:
www.TheClientKiller.org

Open Letter to Amazon Studios, Actor/Producer Jamie Foxx & Director Maggie Betts:

Please Pull the Plug on "The Burial"

You Wouldn't Make a Film Immortalizing Disgraced Attorney Thomas Girardi, and You Shouldn't Make a Film Immortalizing Attorney Willie E. Gary.

On the surface, "The Burial" appears to be a story about attorney Willie E. Gary, the son of a Florida sharecropper who went on to become a flamboyant lawyer and a champion of the underdog. In reality, he is nothing of the sort. Attorney Gary has been accused numerous times of colluding with defendants and stealing untold millions from unsuspecting clients — in other words, Mr. Gary is a serial predator who preys on the most vulnerable — his very own clients!

While attorney Gary described himself as a "Giant Killer" in a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Morley Safer, in truth attorney Gary is a client killer because he kills the very hopes and dreams he promises his unsuspecting clients before intentionally steering their highly lucrative legal cases into dismissal by either (1) failing to file proper paperwork, (2) failing to submit compelling evidence he has in his possession, (3) failing to file the complaint within the statute of limitations, or (4) settling and stealing settlement monies behind the client's back.

In any of these aforementioned scenarios, Willie Gary's goal is simple: negotiate an undisclosed settlement with defendants, which will then put the case to rest and thus protect the reputation of defendants while simultaneously keeping any knowledge of the settlement away from his clients. It's all confidential, and thus any cross-referencing of information between the actual plaintiffs and defendants is strictly barred. All information has to channel through attorney Gary so he can tell his clients anything he wants without fear of repercussion. It's the ultimate shell game — only this game is played with millions of dollars rather than peanuts.

Read Entire Letter


Victims of Celebrity Lawyer Willie Gary, Georgia Mother & Family Memorialize Daughter on 7th Anniversary of Death

For Immediate Release

News Release 3/8/21
From Corporate Campaign, Inc. (NYC)
Contact Pat Clark or
Corporate Campaign Director Ray Rogers
718-852-2808
Visit:
www.TheClientKiller.org

Victims of Celebrity Lawyer Willie Gary, Georgia Mother & Family Memorialize Daughter on 7th Anniversary of Death

Legal Malpractice Lawsuit in Federal Court in Atlanta Seeks $100 Million in Damages Against Willie E. Gary and His Law Firm

The week of March 10th, the seventh anniversary of daughter Katrina Cook's tragic death in Austell, Georgia at the age of 36, Ernestine and Robert Elliott (Powder Springs residents), their family and friends are preparing to pray and release balloons into the sky as they do each year to celebrate her life and memory. Katrina's love, empathy, compassion and generosity towards others won her wide acclaim.

On March 5, 2015, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a resolution mourning "the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens" and "honoring her life and memory." "She was a person of magnanimous strengths with an unimpeachable reputation for integrity, intelligence, fairness and kindness and, by the example she made of her life, she made this world a better place in which to live..."

"After their heartbreaking loss, Ernestine and her family's nightmare with Florida based attorney Willie E. Gary and his law firm began," said Ray Rogers. The day after the accident Gary called Ms. Elliott to aggressively solicit her to hire him to file a wrongful death lawsuit against automaker Nissan and Schneider National whose truck rear ended her daughter's Nissan Infiniti which burst into flames. Gary insisted that he immediately fly to Georgia to meet. There, with contract in hand, Gary falsely and cruelly promised the grieving parents that he would be with them every step of the way.

Gary boasted that he was the number one lawyer in the nation, and he was going to win billion dollar verdicts because the trucking company was one lawsuit and the auto company was a separate lawsuit. With him representing them, he emphasized that the family would never have to worry about anything to pay for funeral costs and to continue Katrina's legacy of philanthropy.

"To say that Willie Gary is a monster and guilty of colossal legal malpractice is a no brainer," said Ray Rogers. These facts are highlighted in the lawsuit:

1. Gary and his law firm colleagues, LeRonnie Mason and Chanthina Abney, repeatedly lied to the heartbroken Ms. Elliott for nearly five years claiming that the lawsuits were progressing and big victories were near. Yet Gary never filed the "billion dollar lawsuits" he boasted about. After the statute of repose and the statute of limitations ran out, Gary hired another law firm to go through the motions of filing the lawsuits knowing full well that the judge would dismiss them and Nissan and Schneider National Carrier would never be held accountable! It also meant that the big promised settlements would never happen and there would be no money to support her daughter's philanthropy and social welfare work.

2. Shortly after being retained by Ms. Elliott, he learned that daughter Katrina left her a $100,000 GEICO auto insurance death benefit that had absolutely nothing to do with her wrongful death case. Gary pressured Ms. Elliott to have GEICO send the check to him so he could protect all her interests during this difficult period. Then he developed a scheme to steal most of it which he did.

3. In response to the clearly meritorious charges made against him and his firm, Gary's responses filed with the court haven't answered any of the charges claiming legal malpractice, fraud, felony theft, conversion and bad faith.

"I pray that justice is served and attorney Gary is disbarred and sent to prison," wrote Mrs. Elloitt to The Florida Bar. "I believe he and his law firm are the scums of the earth. I have communicated with several past clients that he has defrauded and have further researched his deceitful, criminal behavior. I do not understand why Mr. Gary has not been imprisoned years ago, but time is running out for him."

Willie Gary's fraudulent activities and widespread legal malpractice are highlighted in a new book, The Great Callaway Putter Heist: A True Story of Corporate Greed and Corruption in the World of Golf authored by former Gary law firm client, inventor and Golf Professional Clark Collins. "This book is both an indictment of Callawy Golf and also of Willie Gary's corrupt law firm," noted publisher Ray Rogers. BookAuthority ranks the book #1 of the "5 Best New Professional Golf Books To Read In 2021."

Katrina celebrating college graduation with her mother


Legal Malpractice Lawsuit Seeks $100 Million in Damages Against Willie E. Gary and His Law Firm

For Immediate Release

News Release 2/5/21
From Corporate Campaign, Inc.
Contact Pat Clark or Ray Rogers
718-852-2808
Visit:
www.TheClientKiller.org

Legal Malpractice Lawsuit Seeks $100 Million in Damages Against Willie E. Gary and His Law Firm

Gary vies with California attorney Thomas Girardi for title of America's most corrupt and heartless attorney!

In civil complaint (Case 1:20-cv-05283-TCB) filed December 30, 2020 in U. S. District Court For The Northern District Of Georgia Atlanta Division, plaintiff Ernestine Elliott charges Stuart, Florida law firm Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson And Gary, P.L.L.C. and attorneys Willie E. Gary, Chanthina B. Abney and LeRonnie Mason with legal malpractice, fraud, conversion, civil theft, and bad faith to recover compensatory and punitive damages arising from defendants' representation of her in wrongful death claims related to a March 10, 2014 multi-vehicle accident in Cobb County, Georgia in which Mrs. Elliott's daughter, Katrina M. Cook, was killed.

"Willie Gary and his law firm's reprehensible conduct in Mrs. Elliott's case ranks them at the top of the nation's most incompetent and corrupt members in the legal profession," commented Corporate Campaign, Inc. Director Ray Rogers who investigated the case.

In her civil complaint, Mrs. Elliott charges Willie Gary and his law firm with:

(i) Theft of her funds;

(ii) Commission of a felony crime, e.g. felony theft under Florida and Georgia law;

(iii) Failure to comply with trust accounting rules;

(iv) Legal malpractice, including allowing the statute of limitation and statute of repose to expire before commencing a lawsuit against the responsible parties;

(v) Repeated fraudulent misrepresentations regarding the status of her claims; and

(vi) Failure to communicate with her regarding the status of her claims.

On March 11, 2014, the day after Ms. Cook's death, Willie Gary, contacted Ms. Cook's mother, Ernestine Elliott, to aggressively solicit her to retain his law firm to bring wrongful death claims on behalf of her daughter's estate. On Saturday, March 15, 2014, Gary traveled to Georgia to meet personally with Mr. and Mrs. Elliott. He told them he had obtained billion-dollar verdicts in similar cases and that he could obtain such a recovery for Ms. Cook's estate if they retained him immediately. Mrs. Elliott believed Gary's representations and executed the retainer.

Although Ms. Cook's parents wanted to wait until after their daughter's funeral to discuss legal action, Gary insisted that they retain him immediately to "preserve critical evidence." However Gary and his firm took no action to gather accident photos or preserve the wrecked vehicles involved in the crash. As a result, critical evidence was lost.

Even worse, and what seems incomprehensible, but not so when you investigate the Gary firm's pattern and practice of missing deadlines and defrauding clients, Gary and his firm repeatedly lied to the Elliott family assuring them that the case was moving forward. He and his associates were doing this even though they completely threw her case under the bus, knowing she had no case because they never filed it within the statute of limitations and statute of repose.

"Willie Gary either colluded with the corporate defendants or their insurance companies for a handsome payoff," said Rogers, "or else showed complete disdain for their client Mrs. Elliott and her family's suffering."

To make matters worse," Rogers says, "Willie Gary sunk so low as to steal a substantial death benefit left to the grieving mother from her daughter's uninsured motorist policy."

In a letter to The Florida Bar, Mrs. Elliott stated, "I pray that justice is served and attorney Gary is disbarred and sent to prison. I believe he and his law firm are the scums of the earth. I have communicated with several past clients that he has defrauded and have further researched his deceitful, criminal behavior. I do not understand why Mr. Gary has not been imprisoned years ago, but time is running out for him."

In 2005 Gary and his firm got caught stealing more than $50 million dollars in settlement monies from 42 victims of gender discrimination in a case against Ford Motor Company and Visteon Corporation. A Michigan court determined that the Gary Firm may regularly engage in fraud against its clients. An expert report prepared for the plaintiffs by Yale Law Professor Lawrence Fox, one of the country's leading experts in legal ethics, explains: "This is the saddest example of lawyer misconduct I have directly encountered in years of practice. The defendants here, masquerading as champions of their clients and others they categorize as down-trodden or oppressed, in fact used their representation of their clients and these others they purported to represent, to advance their own financial interests, literally taking money out of the hands of their clients and systematically violating multiple duties these lawyers owed them. Their conduct not only injured their clients but also brought opprobrium on the entire profession."

Willie Gary's fraudulent activities and widespread legal malpractice are also spotlighted in a new book, The Great Callaway Putter Heist: A True Story of Corporate Greed and Corruption in the World of Golf authored by inventor and Golf Professional Clark Collins. "This is one book Mr. Gary's law firm will not be promoting because instead of portraying Mr. Gary as a "Giant Killer," he is justifiably portrayed as a crook and "Client Killer," noted publisher Ray Rogers.

Corporate Campaign's first published book which exposes white collar crime, legal malpractice and corrupt attorneys is rated #1 of the "5 Best New Professional Golf Books To Read In 2021" by BookAuthority. BookAuthority, as featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc., identifies and rates the best books in the world, based on recommendations by thought leaders and experts.


Director Alexander Payne Pulls the Plug on "The Burial"

November 10, 2020

The Campaign to Stop Legal Malpractice reached out to Director Alexander Payne in 2018 with the following flyer highlighting the numerous reasons why he should withdraw from directing the Amazon Studio film "The Burial" and Mr. Payne has since withdrawn and been replaced with Director Maggie Betts with Jamie Foxx staring in and producing the film.

"In 2005 Gary and his firm got caught stealing more than $50 million dollars in settlement monies from 42 victims of gender discrimination in a case against Ford Motor Company and Visteon Corporation. A Michigan court determined that the Gary Firm may regularly engage in fraud against its clients. An expert report prepared for the plaintiffs by Yale Law Professor Lawrence Fox, one of the country's leading experts in legal ethics, explains: "This is the saddest example of lawyer misconduct I have directly encountered in years of practice. The defendants here, masquerading as champions of their clients and others they categorize as down-trodden or oppressed, in fact used their representation of their clients and these others they purported to represent, to advance their own financial interests, literally taking money out of the hands of their clients and systematically violating multiple duties these lawyers owed them. Their conduct not only injured their clients but also brought opprobrium on the entire profession."

"Willie Gary's fraudulent activities and widespread legal malpractice are also spotlighted in a new book, The Great Callaway Putter Heist: A True Story of Corporate Greed and Corruption in the World of Golf authored by inventor and Golf Professional Clark Collins. "This is one book Mr. Gary's law firm will not be promoting because instead of portraying Mr. Gary as a "Giant Killer," he is justifiably portrayed as a crook and "Client Killer," noted publisher Ray Rogers."

Download Original April 28, 2018 Flyer


American Bar Assn to Give "Spirit of Excellence Award" to Crook & Sexual Predator

For Immediate Release | 1/25/19
From Corporate Campaign, Inc.
Contact Pat Clark
718-852-2808

Crook, con artist and sexual predator attorney Willie Gary of Stuart, Florida, is scheduled to receive a "Spirit of Excellence Award" from the American Bar Association (ABA) on January 26th at the ABA's gala Mid-Year Meeting in Las Vegas.

"This is outrageous and raises serious questions about the sanity, ethics and professionalism of those overseeing the awards and those leading the ABA," said Ray Rogers, director of New York City based Corporate Campaign, Inc., whose investigations into the Gary law firm have found what Mr. Rogers characterizes as "a decades long cesspool of unscrupulous behavior orchestrated by Mr. Gary."

In a January 15, 2019 letter to Helen Kim, partner in Los Angeles based Thompson Coburn law firm and chair of the ABA's 12-member board of Commissioners overseeing the Spirit of Excellence Awards celebration, Mr. Rogers wrote: "Has anyone or group been assigned to investigate my charges that Mr. Gary is a crook, a con artist and a sexual predator and is not deserving of such an award? If not, I suggest they do so quickly and take appropriate action to prevent these awards from being questioned and tainted forever and to save the ABA from a lot of embarrassment."

Mr. Rogers' letter to Ms. Kim was copied to ABA's leadership including ABA President Bob Carlson, ABA President-elect Judy Perry Martinez, ABA House of Delegates Chair William Bay and ABA Executive Director Jack Rives. So far, conversations with Ms. Kim and Jack Reeves chief of Staff Amy Eggert have apparently been ignored by the leadership of the ABA.

Rogers adds, "If the ABA presents to Willie Gary the Spirit of Excellence Award, it makes a mockery of the legal profession and the ABA's slogan 'Defending Liberty and Pursuing Justice'"

The media can reach ABA Executive Director Jack Rives Chief of Staff Amy Eggert at 815-545-3771.

Read Letter to the ABA


Angry Former Clients Seek Disbarment of
Celebrated FL Attorney

Press Conference | March 21, 2017
Contact Pat Clark, Corporate Campaign, 718-852-2808

Download the Press Release


Warning: Protect Flint from further harm. Keep Predators Like Willie Gary Out of Town!

News Release | 1/29/16
Contact Pat Clark, Corporate Campaign, 718-852-2808

Corrupt Attorney Willie Gary To Be Challenged At Quinn Chapel AME Church Open Forum

A number of Flint residents joined by labor and human rights advocate Ray Rogers, director of New York City based Corporate Campaign, will attend the church forum at Quinn Chapel AME Church from 11am to 2pm on Saturday. "We are participating in the forum not to watch Gary try to solicit clients," said Rogers, "but to serve as a voice for the many clients he has defrauded."

Flint residents who have friends and relatives that claim they have been defrauded by Gary will be distributing flyers to attendees headlined "WARNING: PROTECT FLINT FROM FURTHER HARM. KEEP PREDATORS LIKE WILLIE GARY OUT OF TOWN! Attorney Willie Gary Will Promise You Billions, Only to Cheat You Out of Millions!" The flyer directs readers to a website, http://TheClientKiller.org  to learn more about the "immoral, corrupt and criminal activities of Mr. Gary."

Gary, his law firm and five of his present and former partners including disgraced former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, are presently being sued in federal court in Georgia for racketeering, fraud, legal malpractice and unjust enrichment in Rowe Entertainment, et al. v. Willie Gary, et al.

Plaintiff Leonard Rowe stated: "The question that keeps coming to my mind is why attorney Willie Gary is still allowed to practice law. He should have been disbarred and imprisoned years ago for the destruction of lives he has caused. Attorney Gary, in my opinion, is detrimental to the American public and a disgrace to the legal profession. He can rest assure that I will not stop until he is held accountable for the deplorable and criminal actions against not only his clients, but against humanity as well. I hope that Flint residents will not fall prey to his fraud.

Marietta Goodman, former Gary client and lead plaintiff in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Coca-Cola, in a letter to The Florida Bar on March 25, 2014 wrote that Gary "is nothing less than a predator that preys on those who have already been victimized and harmed. They place their faith and trust in him for justice. He then abuses that trust to enrich himself...Mr. Gary is nothing short of a criminal."

Former General Motors executive, Jane Newcomb, a 30-year veteran of the corporation, affirmed, "For many former clients, including me, the decision to hire attorney Willie E. Gary has been the mistake of a lifetime."

What could be most damaging to Gary's reputation is the irrefutable evidence disclosed in the flyer and on the website describing how Gary defrauded 42 Ford and Visteon employees, all woman, out of more than $51.5 million. Gary settled that case after the judge ruled against him and stated...the Court is convinced that there is probable cause to believe that a fraud has been attempted or committed..."

Rogers says his investigation has turned up a number of former Gary clients who claim they have been subjected to threats when charging Gary with criminal conduct. According to Rogers, the following excerpt from the judge's order granting sanctions against Gary and his law firm and denying sanctions against Ford/Visteon plaintiffs gives credence to their claims:

Plaintiff Harsen immediately informed [Gary's colleague] Curt Rundell, who stated that, if Company A, Company B, or Willie Gary knew that Harsen had "their case[-]closed files, with all that information, ...[Harsen] could find [her]self in a body bag." After Harsen's husband asked Rundell what the $51.5 million was for upon handing Rundell the spreadsheet the following day, Rundell replied that "the $51.5 million was money Willie [Gary] was to receive from ...[Company B] for programs." When questioned whether this was legal, Rundell stated that Willie [Gary] is doing things that no other attorney has thought of doing and[,] believe me, he has himself covered."

View Quinn Church Announcement

View Protest Flyer


"Exposing the sham known as the Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline," by Gary Jacobs for Long Island Backstory, August, 16 2015

Excerpt from Long Island Backstory regarding Willie Gary's corruption.

Gary Jacobs, investigative reporter for Americans For Legal Reform based in Long Island, New York, produced a half hour news video, "Exposing the sham known as the Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline," for Long Island Backstory to help expose corruption rampant in our "legal system." The following two minute segment of Ray Rogers commenting on the corrupt activities of Willie Gary and his law firm is excerpted from that story which first aired on August 16, 2015. The video resulted from Mr. Jacobs' coverage of the August 11, 2015 hearing in New York City on the New York Attorney Discipline System. Mr. Jacobs can be contacted at: GaryLJacobs@aol.com.Watch the full report on YouTube.


"Attorney Willie Gary and Partners Sued for Racketeering and Fraud"
Street Hype Newspaper, June 30, 2015 | Shirley Irons, Contributing Writer

"Popular American attorney and head of law firm Gary, Williams, Parenti & Watson,Willie Gary and six of his present and former partners including former Atlanta Mayor William Campbell, have been sued by Rowe Entertainment, Inc. claiming racketeering, fraud and legal malpractice....

"In March 2015, a lawsuit, Rowe Entertainment, Inc. vs. Willie E. Gary,was filed in federal district court charging the law firm Gary, Williams, Parenti & Watson and six present and former partners including Willie Gary and former Atlanta Mayor William Campbell, with federal and state racketeering, fraud and legal malpractice." (Read More)


"Response to Attorney Willie Gary's 'Extortion Plot' Accusation"
Press Release | April 21, 2015

Summary: Attorney Willie Gary has accused those involved in filing and promoting the recent federal lawsuit charging him, his Stuart, Florida based law firm and five present and former partners with racketeering, fraud and legal malpractice of an "extortion plot."

Corporate Campaign, Inc. Director Ray Rogers has challenged Mr. Gary to have lead plaintiff Leonard Rowe, others involved in the case, as well as himself, arrested since extortion is both a federal and state crime.

Mr. Rogers has posted evidence in the form of a judge's order which sheds more light on Mr. Gary's and his law firm's corrupt practices and wants Mr. Gary to explain quotes from the order including; "if... Willie Gary knew that Harsen had 'their case-closed files, with all that information, ...[Harsen] could find herself in a body bag...' and "Willie [Gary] is doing things that no other attorney has thought of doing and, believe me, he has himself covered."

Tricia Hoffler, former Gary law partner and now partner in Atlanta law firm Edmond, Lindsay & Hoffler, is a defendant in the Leonard Rowe lawsuit and was a defendant in the lawsuit involving the judge's order and 42 women including Patricia Harsen. (Read More)


"Federal Lawsuit Charges Six Prominent Attorneys with Racketeering, Fraud & Legal Malpractice"
Press Release | March 16, 2015

NEW YORK — On March 13, 2015, a complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The lawsuit charges six prominent attorneys from the Stuart, Florida based law firm, Gary, Williams, Parenti & Watson, P.L.L.C., including law firm partners Willie E. Gary and Lorenzo Williams and former law firm partners, Tricia Hoffler (now a partner in the Atlanta law firm, Edmond, Lindsay & Hoffler) and William Campbell, the former mayor of Atlanta, with federal and state racketeering, fraud, legal malpractice and unjust enrichment. (Read More)

 


"Concert promoter sues former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell"
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 | WSB-TV (ABC) Atlanta, GA

A Johns Creek concert promoter is suing his former attorneys, including former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, alleging they defrauded him.

The walls of Leonard Rowe’s Johns Creek home are a shrine to the musicians whose concerts he once promoted.

"From Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston to Prince," he said. "I’ve been in the concert promotion business for 30 some years." (Read More)


"Concert promoter files federal lawsuit against Stuart-based attorney Willie Gary"
Paul Ivice | TC Palm | March 18, 2015

A veteran concert promoter has sued Stuart-based attorney Willie Gary and five other lawyers, alleging they committed fraud and legal malpractice. (Read More)


"Concert promoter files suit against Stuart attorney"
By Paul Ivice, The Stuart News, March 19, 2015

Read Original

A veteran concert promoter has sued Stuart-based attorney Willie Gary and five other lawyers, alleging they committed fraud and legal malpractice.

The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Atlanta said lead plaintiff Leonard Rowe and fellow promoter Lee King of Jackson, Mississippi, seek "to recover damages arising from the Gary defendants' fraudulent conduct in connection with their representation of plaintiffs and other black concert promoters in a civil action to redress...violations of civil rights laws committed by prominent talent/booking agencies and concert promoters controlled by white people."

A news release from Kori Searcy, director of public relations for Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary PLLC, said Rowe's lawsuit is nothing more than "an extortion plot" spearheaded by a former client.

Also named as defendants are Gary's law partner, Lorenzo Williams; Gary's son, Sekou Gary, an associate with the firm; and former partners Tricia Hoffler, Maria Sperando and William Campbell, the former mayor of Atlanta.

In 2005, court records show, Rowe sued the William Morris Agency, the world's largest talent agency, alleging disparities between black and white concert promoters in the entertainment industry. A federal judge in New York dismissed the suit in a summary judgment.

Last March, that same federal judge found Rowe in contempt of court and ordered him arrested on suspicion of violating a permanent injunction and restraining orders by contacting the Morris Agency and its attorneys, and filing at least $1.4 billion in liens against them in defiance of a court order.

Searcy said that because Gary's firm won a jury award of $16 million in compensatory damages and $23 billion in punitive damages in a tobacco case against R.J. Reynolds in July in Pensacola on behalf of Cynthia Robinson and her late husband, Michael Johnson, the firm has been the target of numerous unsubstantiated lawsuits.

Noting that Rowe is a former client, however, Searcy also said, "In light of our ongoing professional duties to Rowe as his former counsel, we decline to discuss any allegations related to our representation of him or any information we learned during our representation."

In a letter to the Florida Bar in March 2014, Rowe complained that "Gary has a pattern and practice of defrauding his own clients out of their settlements to enrich himself."