Texas Lawyers Sued for Allegedly Bankrolling BP Spill Scam
Two high-profile Texas attorneys were sued by a fishing boat captain who said they were involved in a scam to cheat BP Plc out of millions of dollars with false compensation claims for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, reports Bloomberg.
Houston lawyer Tammy Tran said in a complaint Thursday that thousands of Vietnamese-American fishermen and women had their identities faked or stolen in the fraud, bankrolled by lawyers Bob Hilliard and John Cracken. Plaintiffs blame the lawyers in part for obstructing their efforts to pursue their own claims for payments under BP’s restitution program, the report says.
“Tran is seeking more than $100 million in punitive damages from Hilliard and Cracken to compensate the immigrants,” according to Bloomberg. “Many of them claim to have suffered mental anguish from “nightmarish memories” of Vietnam’s communist regime, revived by federal agents knocking on doors to investigate the identity thefts. Compensation is also sought for homes and businesses lost while waiting for BP to pay under its seafood accord.”
Hilliard denied the allegations.
