Ready Or Not, Former DOJ Lawyer Could Be Facing Disbarment

Three words of advice whenever you’re thinking about committing crimes that leave paper trails: Take It Easy. The last person you should have to tell that to is someone who works for the Department of Justice, but don’t forget that they’re still on the list. While this former DOJ employee didn’t Seek Stardom, he did seek to get over on an influence scheme. As you might assume from the title, The Score didn’t go as well as he would have liked. ABA Journal has coverage:

A lawyer who worked for the U.S. Department of Justice is facing disbarment after pleading guilty for his role in an illegal foreign influence scheme that allegedly stemmed from his friendship and legal work for hip-hop artist Prakazrel “Pras” Michel.

For the uninitiated, Pras is one of the founding members of The Fugees. While Pras doesn’t have to worry about disbarment, he is currently fighting a corruption case that could land him 22 years in prison. Anyway, back to the story at hand.

George A. Higginbotham, a former senior congressional affairs specialist at the DOJ, prepared fake loan documents, investment agreements and consulting agreements to hide the source of tens of millions of dollars intended to be used to lobby the U.S. government, according to the April 16 opinion by the Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court.

Higgenbotham pleaded guilty to a count of making false statements to a bank. I guess that’s one way to get a Change To Come. All in all, Higgenbotham should Dry His Eyes. Disbarment sucks for sure, but there are other — legal — opportunies out there. Maybe he can join a Family Business?

Former DOJ Lawyer Faces Disbarment For Entanglement In ‘One Of The Largest Kleptocracy Schemes In History’ [ABA Journal]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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