north america/CRIME

Lawyer accountable for over $300,000 spent on gambling

An LA attorney has been disbarred after committing large-scale fraud to fund his cardroom gambling habit. Recently, the attorney was sentenced to two years after accepting a plea bargain and agreeing to pay $310,000 in restitution.

Written by Casino House Group Editorial Team

Published on July 21, 2026

Summary

An LA attorney has been disbarred after committing large-scale fraud to fund his cardroom gambling habit.
Recently, the attorney was sentenced to two years after accepting a plea bargain and agreeing to pay $310,000 in restitution.
In the worst-case scenario, Ramirez might have spent over ten years in prison.

A Los Angeles attorney faces a bill exceeding $300,000 after admitting to writing bad checks for his clients. Identified as 36-year-old Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez, he duped and deceived his clients out of funds, which he then squandered on his gambling habit.

Attorney agrees to take plea bargain, lessen charges against him

Ramirez has admitted to three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement and one count of felony insufficient funds concerning a checking account, agreeing to repay $310,000 in restitution. This was truly a house of cards that fell apart once law enforcement and state bar officials uncovered his deceitful actions, stated Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, explaining the case. Ramirez committed these crimes over five years, from 2019 to 2023, admitting to taking money from clients without their permission. Two years before he started this fraudulent scheme, Ramirez was admitted to the State Bar of California, and in 2024 he was disbarred after his crimes and the subsequent accusations became known. He also admitted to writing bad checks to clients, fully aware that there were insufficient funds in his account for the checks to clear. Ramirez has expressed remorse for his actions, explaining that his strong addiction to card games drove him to spend and lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Frequenting cardrooms and addiction cost attorney dearly

He frequently gambled at The Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino, spending approximately $886,000 on chips during his time there. Ramirez has now been sentenced to two years in prison after agreeing to a plea deal. Without this deal, he faced the possibility of spending over a decade behind bars.