Lawyer accused of faking judges' signatures admits to wire fraud - Reuters

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• Matthew Charles Elstein pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud
• Prosecutors said Elstein faked court wins, forged documents

(Reuters) - A former longtime California law firm attorney has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after allegedly lying to clients about winning cases, creating fake court documents and forging judges' signatures, according to court papers made public Thursday.

Los Angeles prosecutors submitted a 34-page plea agreement with Matthew Charles Elstein, 51, who previously practiced at law firms Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Selman Breitman and Tressler.

In June 2016, Elstein told a client he won a $52 million default judgment for a lawsuit that he never filed, prosecutors said. They said he created a fake court order, forged a judge's signature, claimed the lawsuit was under seal, and created a fake settlement agreement between the client and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

Elstein is set to be arraigned on Oct. 28. He faces up to a 20-year prison sentence, prosecutors said.

Neither Elstein nor his attorney, Sacramento-based white collar criminal defense lawyer Candice Fields, responded to requests for comment.

Among prosecutors' accusations, they said he traveled to Washington state in September 2015 and fabricated depositions, even paying for a court stenographer to record the non-appearances. He later created a fake court order and forged a judge's signature, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Elstein's misconduct "resulted in losses of at least $358,855 by his victims."

The California state bar ordered Elstein inactive starting March 2019. Two months later, he was suspended from practicing in the Central District of California.

The case is United States of America v. Matthew Charles Elstein, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2:21-cr-00494.

David Thomas

David Thomas reports on the business of law, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. He is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.

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