Posted By Simpson Law Group LLP Trial Attorneys Posted in:Civil Suit
A former longtime San Diego lawyer, who also won thousands playing poker in Las Vegas, is now facing accusations of embezzlement.
Pictures found online show David Demanski with sunglasses on and poker chips at his side at various poker tournaments. The card player/attorney now faces accusations from former clients and may have to answer to the State Bar of California.
“It was devastating, it really was for me,” said Garry McCullough, who had Demanski represent him in a 2007 auto accident lawsuit.
During that time, McCullough thought Demanski was doing his job, but instead Demanski never filed a case. By the time McCullough found out, the statute of limitations had passed.
“Horrified,” McCullough said. “I had major medical problems at the time and I trusted him to do it. He [was] sending emails basically keeping me on a string for months.”
Now, McCullough is suing Demanski, and his new lawyer is calling Demanski a liar.
“The ongoing fraud afterward, the ongoing lies about what had actually happened … that’s rather unusual,” said attorney Charles Moore, who is representing McCullough in a civil case against Demanski.
Demanski faces more serious accusations. A search warrant affidavit shows another client is accusing him of embezzling money from her by illegally copying her signature and then settling without her knowledge. Court documents
allege Demanski took more than $10,000.
In November, Demanski was ordered inactive by the State Bar. He has won more than $120,000 in poker and whether or not he will face criminal charges is still being investigated.
Early Tuesday afternoon, Demanski contacted 10News reporter Melissa Mecija and told her he was suffering from severe depression. He admitted that he gave the money from the settlement to another client and said the many of the accusations in McCullough’s civil case are true.
Demanski said he has not played poker in more than a year.
Article courtesy of abc 10 News. See more:
http://www.10news.com/news/lawyer-turned-poker-player-faces-civil-suit
