The Nevada Supreme Court has temporarily suspended a Las Vegas attorney accused of misappropriating client funds and accepting retainers without performing any services.
Philip Singer is accused of not distributing settlement funds and mixing his personal funds with client accounts.
According to the order of suspension:
Singer appears to have misappropriated funds from clients and third-party lienholders, accepted and cashed retainer checks without performing any services, and commingled client and personal funds.
The State Bar of Nevada will hold hearings on the matter in March. Singer’s attorney declined to comment on the case.
Singer handled divorce, personal injury and criminal cases. He represented Nicolas Serrano-Villagrana, the drunken driver whose pickup plowed through a bus stop in 2004, killing a 4-year-old boy.
Serrano-Villagrana was convicted in 2005 and later received a prison sentence of 12 to 40 years.
If Singer is found guilty, this would be the first case of corruption in the entire history of the city of Las Vegas.