TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Boca Raton attorney Lawrence Michael Weisberg faces voluntarily disbarment following a Sept. 27 Florida Supreme Court order regarding a federal money laundering charge filed against him last spring, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"A disciplinary action pending against Weisberg involves an ongoing federal criminal prosecution wherein he has been charged with one count of money laundering, a felony," the state bar said in its Sept. 28 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order.
The state Supreme Court issued its two-page order of disciplinary revocation, tantamount to disbarment, with leave to seek readmission after five years. Weisberg's disbarment will be effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow him time to close his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's order.
The high court also ordered Weisberg to pay $1,250 in costs.
Florida court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion does not alter the effective date of Weisberg's disbarment.
Attorneys disbarred in the state generally cannot reapply for admission for five years. Then they must pass an extensive process that includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam.
Weisberg was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 30, 1992, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Weisberg's state bar profile.
In May, Weisberg was among 124 individuals changed in an alleged $337 million in false billing scheme in a "national health care fraud takedown," according to a U.S. Justice Department news release. Weisberg, 51 at the time, was charged with having laundered health care fraud proceeds he allegedly received from Smart Lab LLC, a clinical laboratory in Palm Beach Gardens.
The so-called "takedown" was the largest national health care fraud enforcement action in the Justice Department history, resulting in 76 doctors charged in 84 opioid cases that involved more than 13 million illegal opioid dosages, according to the news release.