Attorney on the hook for $300,000+ they spent on gambling

• An LA attorney has been disbarred following a large-scale fraud he committed to fund his cardroom gambling habit
• The attorney was sentenced to two years recently after taking a plea bargain and agreeing to pay $310,000 in restitution
• Ramirez could have faced more than a decade behind bars in a worst-case scenario

A Los Angeles attorney is on the hook for more than $300,000 after he pleaded guilty to writing bad checks on behalf of his clients. Identified as Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez, 36, the man "duped and deceived his clients of funds" that he then used to fund his gambling habit.

Attorney agrees to take plea bargain, lessen charges against him

Ramirez has pleaded guilty to three counts of felony grand theft by embezzlement and one count of felony insufficient funds in a checking account, with the perpetrator now agreeing to pay $310,000 in restitution.

"This truly was a house of cards that collapsed when law enforcement and state bar officials learned about his duplicitous actions," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, detailing the case.

Ramirez’s crimes took place over five years between 2019 and 2023, with the man acknowledging his actions and owning up to taking the money from his clients without authorization.

Two years prior, he began his fraudulent scheme; Ramirez was admitted to the State Bar of California and disbarred in 2024, following the allegations and his actions coming to light.

He also conceded that he had written bad checks to clients well aware that he didn’t have sufficient funds for the payments to go through when the checks were cashed out.

Ramirez has been contrite about his actions, providing a clear motivation for his actions - a strong addiction to card games, on which he spent and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Frequenting cardrooms and addiction cost attorney dearly

He played at two prominent cardrooms, specifically The Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino, where he has bought an estimated $886,000 in gambling chips over the period of his gambling.

Ramirez has been sentenced to two years in prison now, following his plea deal. A worst-case scenario could have seen the man locked up behind bars for more than a decade.

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