LA lawyer accused of deceiving inmates with false hope of freedom

A Los Angeles lawyer accused of pilfering thousands of dollars by deliberately giving inmates and their families false information about their chances of re-sentencing after convictions for violent crimes faces an 18-count disciplinary complaint filed this week by the California State Bar.

Aaron Spolin allegedly sought out incarcerated clients under false promises related to a 2018 resentencing law, California Assembly Bill 2942. That law allows district attorneys across the Golden State to recommend resentencing and re-sentencing for certain crimes, excluding “serious and violent crimes,” the California Bar Association said in a statement Monday.

Spolin was reportedly well aware that he was pocketing money from desperate people who were not eligible for assistance under the law because of the crimes they had committed, and he had been repeatedly told by the Los Angeles and Orange County district attorneys' offices that they would make such decisions independently, according to a disciplinary notice filed Monday.

Spolin is accused of all 18 counts of alleged misconduct in the Notice of Appeal, charging unreasonable fees, failing to provide honest advice, writing misleading notices, failing to communicate, and committing moral turpitude and making false statements.

George Cardona, chief counsel for the California Bar Association, said in Monday's statement: “Giving false hope to people in need for one's own financial gain is contrary to the responsibility of a lawyer.”

“This principle underlies the disciplinary action order, which alleges that Mr. Spolin misled prisoners and their families and withheld information from them in order to persuade them to pay him for services that provided them no relief,” Cardona said.

Despite receiving at least nine letters from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between February and April 2021 advising him of the criteria for resentencing and a notice on the office's website stating that “an attorney cannot initiate or expedite the review process for an individual case,” Spolin allegedly continued to accept payments from inmates convicted in his district who had no chance of release under the 2018 law.

The fiancée of Karl Holmes — who is sentenced to death in Los Angeles County for triple murder and other crimes and is facing execution — paid Spolin more than $20,000, according to Monday's statement. In addition to misleading Holmes' fiancée, Spolin allegedly failed to provide him with a full accounting of his legal work when requested.

The sister of Thomas Stringer, who was sentenced to 160 years to life in prison in Los Angeles County for crimes including gang kidnappings and armed robberies, paid Spolin more than $17,000 for futile legal work.

“Spolin continued to advise the prisoner and his sister to seek a new sentence, but failed to clarify that this was unlikely to succeed, as he had previously received several communications from LADA clarifying that such requests would not be considered in cases of violent offenders,” the Bar Association said in a statement on Monday.

In a February 2023 memo to Stringer, Spolin falsely claimed he had been in contact with prosecutors, who “stated that they would like more information about you and your case,” the memo said.

In another case in Los Angeles County, Spolin allegedly extorted more than $26,000 from the sister of an incarcerated man who had been convicted of murder and other crimes for which he was not entitled to compensation.

Spolin allegedly received “no fewer than eight letters” from the Orange County District Attorney's Office in 2021 informing him of its policy of only reviewing cases for possible resentencing under the 2018 law recommended by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Monday's statement said.

“After receiving these letters, Spolin nevertheless demanded $28,500 from an inmate sentenced to 15 years to life for premeditated murder and his wife for post-conviction legal services, including a request to the OCDA for a resentencing pursuant to AB 2942,” the bar association said.

The notice gives Spolin 20 days from the date of service to file a written response and warns him that failure to respond could result in a default judgment, a change in his status as a California licensed attorney to inactive status, and further disciplinary action.

Spolin did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A representative of the California Bar Association told Law360 Pulse in an email on Wednesday: “If Mr. Spolin is found to be guilty of misconduct, the Bar Association expects to seek to suspend or revoke his license.”

The California State Bar is represented by Attorney Gail C. Mullikin.

Information about Spolin's legal counsel was not available Wednesday.

The case is Aaron Spolin, case number SBC-24-O-30656, in the State Bar Court, Hearing Division, Los Angeles.

–Editing by Drashti Mehta.

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