Weinstein Lawyer Lisa Bloom Agrees to Pay Up After Misusing Pandemic Funds

AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File

Lisa Bloom, the attorney who represented disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein, agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle allegations that she made false claims to obtain financial pandemic assistance.

Bloom and her husband Braden Pollock agreed to each pay $35,000 while her firm, The Bloom Firm, would pay back $204,000. Federal prosecutors alleged under the False Claims Act that Bloom provided false information in order to receive financial assistance related to Covid relief programs.

Reuters reported:

Prosecutors alleged that the Bloom Firm falsely certified it used funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic for eligible payroll expenses, when it actually used the money to pay several workers who were ineligible to receive the PPP funds or were not working for the firm.

“Attorneys have a duty to follow the law to the letter – especially when it comes to government programs aiding individuals and businesses impacted by COVID-19,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement Thursday.

Despite the agreement, neither Bloom, Pollock, nor the firm admitted guilt and continue to deny the allegations.

Bloom rose to prominence representing alleged victims of Jeffery Epstein and Bill Cosby. She later represented Weinstein when he faced accusations of sexual abuse, which she later called “a colossal mistake.”