“Charlottesville, Glen Allen attorneys plead guilty to extortion scheme targeting multinational chemicals company” —

• “‘This is a case where two attorneys blew well past the line of aggressive advocacy and crossed deep into the territory of illegal extortion, in a brazen attempt to enrich themselves by extracting millions of dollars from a multinational company,’ said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. ‘Today’s pleas underscore that when crimes are committed, members of the bar, like all members of the public, will be held accountable for their actions.'”
• “As part of their guilty pleas, Litzenburg and Kincheloe admitted that in approximately October 2019, Litzenburg approached a company (Company 1) and threatened to make public statements alleging that Company 1 had significant civil liability for manufacturing a purportedly harmful chemical used in a common household product used to kill weeds.”
• “Litzenburg and Kincheloe also admitted that after describing the possibility of damaging lawsuits against Company 1, Litzenburg proposed, in sum and substance, that he and Kincheloe enter into a ‘consulting arrangement’ with Company 1 that would create a purported conflict-of-interest that would effectively stop them from representing their clients as plaintiffs in litigation against Company 1.”
• “Thereafter, Litzenburg and Kincheloe admitted that Litzenburg, with Kincheloe’s knowledge and agreement, demanded that Company 1 pay Litzenburg, Kincheloe, and others, a total of $200 million in purported ‘consulting fees.'”
• “Litzenburg also admitted that, during other communications with Company 1, he told Company 1 that if he received the $200 million in ‘consulting fees’ he would not discuss Company 1 or its parent company with his current clients, and that he was willing to ‘take a dive’ during a deposition of a toxicology expert to deter potential future claims related to litigation against Company 1.”

More: “Anti-Monsanto Lawyer And USRTK, Carey Gillam Collaborator Possibly Headed To Prison For Extortion”

• “Unbelievably, they also admitted that they weren’t going to give any of this money to their clients — you know, the cancer patients they claim to be helping. Instead, they intended to keep all the money for themselves and their associates.”

And more generally on the broader topic: “Bayer settles lawsuits from cancer patients over Roundup weed killer in $10 billion agreement” —

• “The settlement of Roundup cases in the US ‘will bring closure to approximately 75% of the current Roundup litigation involving approximately 125,000 filed and unfiled claims overall,’ Bayer said in a news release.”
  “Potential future cases will be governed by a class agreement that’s subject to court approval, the company said. Bayer said the settlement agreements ‘contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing.'”