The trial of suspended attorney Philip James Layfield for mail fraud and money laundering in connection with allegedly stealing millions of dollars from clients—with additional crimes now being charged—has been continued for the third time.

Trial was initially set for May 15, was continued to Aug. 14, and then to Feb. 26; on Jan. 16, U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald signed an order bumping the trial over to Sept. 10.

On Jan. 9, downtown Los Angeles attorney Steven A. Brody joined the case as an attorney for Layfield, in addition to Anthony M. Solis of the Federal Indigent Panel, who was appointed by Fitzgerald in May 2 as the defendant’s lawyer.

In signing the order for the continuance, pursuant to agreement of the parties, Fitzgerald said that “failure to grant the continuance would unreasonably deny defendant continuity of counsel and would deny defense counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence.”

Under a superseding indictment filed Nov. 15, Layfield is charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, attempt to evade and defeat tax, failure to collect and pay over tax, willful failure to file tax return, and causing an offense to be committed by another, with a criminal forfeiture sought Layfield has been released on a $450,000 bond and is presently residing in Delaware.

The prosecution, from the outset, concerns Layfield pocketing settlement funds belonging to Josephine Nguyen, who was a client of the erstwhile law firm of Layfield & Barrett. She was to receive 60 percent of a $3.9 million settlement of her personal injury claim, amounting to $2.3 million. It has been expanded to charge a pattern of cheating clients.

The defendant, apprehended in New Jersey in March and incarcerated until August, had previously fled to Costa Rica.

Solis on Aug. 17 filed an emergency motion for an order modifying the terms of Layfield’s release to permit him to leave his residence to attend classes paving the way for him to obtain a commercial driver’s license so he can seek employment as a truck driver. The motion was granted and he completed a seven-week course. On Oct. 16, Fitzgerald granted a motion permitting him to accept employment with a trucking company. Given that Layfield’s employment necessitates leaving his home, Solis filed a motion on Oct. 20 seeking modification of his bond to delete the home detention/home confinement condition, which was granted Oct. 22.
Layfield was suspended from law practice by the State Bar of California after he failed to show up for his Jan. 24 disciplinary hearing. The State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel filed disciplinary charges against him on Sept. 20, 2017, alleging that the attorney misappropriated more than $3.4 million from his clients.

Layfield acknowledges moving funds from the attorney-client trust account to his erstwhile firm’s general fund, but insists he thought there was enough money in the coffers to cover the clients’ shares of settlements. He ascribes blame to others, including the State Bar prosecutor.