‘Lemon Clinic’ Attorney, Accused of Pocketing Settlements, Denies Guilt

A San Diego lawyer who promoted himself as a consumer-rights advocate pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he funneled more than $250,000 of his clients’ settlement checks to his own bank account.

Raphael S. Levens, 48, pleaded not guilty to 54 charges of grand theft and forgery. San Diego Municipal Court Judge John M. Thompson released Levens on his own recognizance and set an Aug. 18 hearing.

Prosecutors believe the case involves a “consumer law advocate ultimately taking advantage of other people, consuming other people’s attorney services,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Sally Williams said.

Levens’ attorney, Robert Grimes, declined comment on the charges. “All I can say is that, at a later point in the court proceedings, a more detailed explanation will be given as to what exactly has happened and exactly what problems have occurred,” he said.

Known for ‘Lemon’ Cases

Levens practiced consumer law in the San Diego area for more than 15 years and gained some renown for a business he ran about five years ago called The Lemon Clinic, where he handled the complaints of auto owners who had soured on their new vehicles, Grimes said.

The charges against Levens stem from his dealings on behalf of clients who asked him for help with defective automobiles, Williams said. Grimes said he believed that some Lemon Clinic cases were included.

“We’re alleging that the victims were clients of his, he negotiated settlements on their behalf, received settlement checks from various (auto makers), deposited the checks into his account and used the money for his own purposes,” Williams said. “The client never received any of the money.

“In many of the cases, the clients never even knew there had been a settlement,” she said.

Auto manufacturers with whom Levens negotiated settlements included Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., Williams said.

The complaint against Levens covers 23 clients and settlements Levens negotiated from January, 1987, through last December, Williams said. The prosecutor said she plans to add two more charges by the Aug. 18 hearing because a 24th client has come forth.

‘Suspect There May be More’

“The client security fund of the state bar has been paying off clients of his, and so, in some cases, people, because they got their money back, may not be interested in pressing charges,” Williams said. “So I suspect there may be more.”

The state bar fund can reimburse a client up to $50,000 for money lost because an attorney was dishonest, according to a bar statement. The money in the fund comes from $25 all active lawyers in California--now about 117,000--must contribute each year, bar officials said.

Though the counts against Levens include alleged forgeries ranging from $3,000 to $37,500, the complaint also lists two purported thefts described only as more than $25,000 and one as more than $100,000.

The total amount at issue is more than $250,000, Williams said.

“One favorable thing is that Mr. Levens has cooperated fully with the state bar in providing all of his files and all information regarding the claims by his former clients,” Grimes said. “He has assisted the clients in getting full recovery from the state bar client security fund, so the individual clients will not suffer losses.”

On Thursday, the state bar sent out a statement announcing a news conference next Wednesday in San Diego at which at least five of Levens’ clients will be reimbursed for their losses from the security fund.

Levens, a University of San Diego law school graduate, submitted his resignation from the bar Dec. 13, with disciplinary charges pending, bar spokeswoman Anne Charles said Friday. Charles said she did not know the nature of those charges.

If convicted, Levens faces a maximum of nine years in state prison and, on each count, a $10,000 fine, Williams said.