Disbarred South Bay Attorney Admits To Stealing From Clients To Fuel Gambling Addiction

LOS ANGELES, CA — A disbarred Manhattan Beach attorney pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than $300,000 from former clients and writing bad checks while using the money to fuel a gambling addiction, prosecutors said.

Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez, 36, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement and one felony count involving insufficient funds, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

He also admitted an allegation that his crimes caused losses of at least $100,000.

Between 2019 and 2023, Valdovinos Ramirez withheld money that clients were expecting from settlements and other court matters. He later issued checks to clients that bounced because his bank account contained little or no money, prosecutors said.

“The defendant duped and deceived his clients of funds that were earmarked for them only to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars of these funds gambling,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.

Under the plea agreement, Valdovinos Ramirez must pay $50,000 before his sentencing and at least $310,000 in restitution. He is expected to be sentenced to two years in state prison, prosecutors said.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said Valdovinos Ramirez’s disbarment took effect in September 2024 and has since been finalized by the California Supreme Court.