I've reported on the story of Deanna Williams in a series of articles. In those articles, I have referenced the woman who refers to herself as "the most famous female attorney in the country" to the wishes of Ms. Williams concerning the report. However, following another interview with Ms. Williams and seeing her case is desperate to the point of threats of arrest, Williams believes attorney Gloria Allred has failed to honor their agreement.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, there are three previous reports:
- Florida: Buying & Selling for Profit The Right to Sue a Rape Victim – The Deanna Williams Story
- Judge Tossed Right To Sue Rape Victim – Florida Attorneys Still Pursue Her, Threaten Arrest
- Rape Victim Pursued By Attorney, Who Bought Right To Sue Her, Threatened With Arrest Within 24 Hours – Here’s Why
Ms. Allred has been hailed in the media as an attorney who comes to the aid of women, and no doubt she did so in the matter of Ms. Williams, but Ms. Williams claims that Allred failed to honor her retainer agreement by making sure that previous attorneys were paid.
Ms. Williams has desperately attempted to have attorneys come to her aid after numerous attorneys she employed acted inappropriately, unprofessionally, negligently and even what seems to be criminally, according to Williams.
As Ms. Williams awaits being interviewed by a Florida Bar investigator for several attorneys she has hired to represent her who seem to have engaged in malpractice, theft and negligence, she remains under threat of arrest. However, though the case may be confusing to many because it seems to have "many working parts," it appears that Ms. Williams' problems come down to one specific thing. She claims, and her retainer agreement with Gloria Allred and Jonathan Heller appear to confirm, that her attorneys were to pay her previous attorney fees and liens from the money they received in her rape settlement case.
The specific words of the retainer agreement dated August 14, 2012, read exactly, including underline, as follows under the heading "Attorney's Fees."
"As for attorneys fees, you agree to pay us a fee equal to forty (40%) percent of the gross amount recovered. This percentage constitutes the entire amount of fees you will be responsible to pay us, as well as all your prior counsel. Towards that end, we will take all reasonable steps to negotiate prior counsels' undetermined fees which they may claim by way of their respectively filed charging liens. This includes the claim of your first layer, Peter Itzler."Williams told The Washington Standard that she had a great concern with changing attorneys because she wanted to make sure prior attorneys fees would be paid out of the money the new attorneys would receive if they were able to settle the case.
As you can see from the direct words of the retainer, which is not part of the non-disclosure agreement in the rape case, attorneys Jonathan A. Heller, Gloria Allred and Nathan Goldberg agreed to receive 40% of the final settlement in the case, which they were able to resolve in a matter of weeks.
The amount of the settlement is unknown due to a non-disclosure agreement signed by Ms. Williams. That amount is irrelevant to her claim.
If these fees and liens were paid, there would never have been a suit against her by attorneys in 2013, and the subsequent court allowing what it calls a "substitution" of attorney Scott Mager of Mager Paruas to the plaintiffs in place of Michael Dolce, a man who purchased the right to sue Williams from Dolce, according to Ms. Williams. Williams claims that if Mager had purchased a settled judgment, it would be legal under Florida law, but she says that a third party, who never aided her in her rape case interfering is illegal.
To be fair, I have contacted an attorney and paralegal for assistance in simply understanding a couple of phrases in the section I mentioned. When I mentioned the fact that the wording read "respectively filed charging liens," I was told that is where the loophole was and that since a 2016 ruling by Judge LaRose reversed a previous temporary injunction on the holding of Ms. Williams' assets in this case. The reason, according to Judge LaRose was "because the trial court committed legal error in granting the motion to preserve assets," as well as "neither the magistrate nor the trial court held an evidentiary hearing... substantial, competent evidence was not provided to establish entitlement to a temporary injunction."
Williams claims that the attorneys did speak about the payment to the attorneys between themselves. So, clearly, they were aware of liens and fees prior to taking on the case.
During transition, Ms. Williams previously retained her new attorney Gloria Allred and they did speak with one another about fees and whether or not they were wanted to stay on the case at the service of Mr. Heller.
Calls to Mr. Heller have gone unreturned, and according to Ms. Williams, when she asked for canceled checks or verification that her previous attorney fees and liens were taken care of, he failed to provide evidence.
Thus, this is why she has been placed in the situation she is in from 2013 to the present. While it is true that the court is merely acting as the court, one would think that seeing the dire nature of this woman's condition and threat of arrest in a case in which a man, Scott Mager, who had no skin in the game during her original rape case though he continues to claim to have been in this "from the beginning," is awarded over $1 million dollars. This was largely due to the fact that Williams' attorney had filed his appearance in the inactive rape case rather than the one he was retained to represent her in. This led to Williams not having any representation in the court and ultimately a final judgment against her for over $1 million. Additionally, that attorney, G. Ware Cornell, intercepted a $200,000 payment that was to be paid to Ms. Williams, which she never authorized him to do and at least $100,000 of that money was issued to Scott Mager under direction of Judge Jay B. Rosman, who just weeks later would be arrested in a prostitution ring sting.
It's interesting that a judge who was busted for a sex crime is presiding over a case resulting from a sex crime.
In a letter submitted to the court on March 19, 2019, Williams pleaded with the court about the unethical nature of what has transpired. Here is the full text of her letter as typed via the Lee County court documents in the case (13-CA-3181).
As you're aware, I'm the rape victim Mr. Mager purchased the rights to sue for profit after attorney Ware Cornell made the error of entering his appearance under the inactive rape case which allowed a default judgment opening the door for Mr. mager to profit after my rights were denied and funds were stolen by wire fraud by Attorney G. Ware Cornell who then promised the intercepted fund to Mr. Mager.As Mr. Mager is aware, by email to Mike Corso in Octboer 2017, Ware Cornell falsely claimed authorization to receive funds on my behalf and requested that a $200,000 payment be wired to Mr. Cornell instead of being sent to me. The stolen funds were later distributed by Judge Jay B. Rosman who distributed stolen funds more than a month after the theft. The attempt to clean up the stolen funds by Distributing them through a judge who was arrested for a sex crime while presiding over a case arising from a sex crime makes the funds that Mr. Mager is still in receipt of no less stolen.
Mr. Mager continues to commit crimes against me using the court as a weapon and a shield to conceal his illegal acts. In May of 2018, Mr. Mager, submitted to the court and agreed entry that was absolutely fraudulent. Both sides had not agreed to irrevocably transfer any funds in the underlying case to Mr. Mager. It flies in the face of reason to believe I would have agreed to such a thing. It is simply preposterous. In an affidavit filed with the court upon discovery of the fraudulent order, my attorney at the time Mike Chionopoulos details the "error."
The level of Mager's hubris while requesting that a rape victim with multiple sclerosis dealing with complications of a high-risk pregnancy and PTSD be jailed for contempt for not turning over extensive financial documents which are nearly impossible to provide after losing her home due to Mr. Mager's theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars is astonishing. It would shock the conscience of anyone who possesses a conscience. Mr. Mager is not a victim of anything but an individual who knowingly bought the rights to sue a rape victim for profit after Michael Dolce abandoned the case after Dolce missed important deadlines and walked out of mediation in the underlying case crying when opposing counsel didn't want to hear explicit details of Dolce being anally raped as a child.
It is in light of Mr. Mager's repeated dishonesty and omission of relevant fact before the court that I ask that all attempts to threaten and intimidate using the court as a weapon stop immediately. I asked that deposition respect my disabilities as a woman with multiple sclerosis and and complex medical issues at present. I ask that deposition is set at a time that works for both parties and I am no longer threatened with arrest.
Unfortunately, due to Mr. Mager's continued possession of funds stolen from me by fraud upon the court, I am unable to be represented by counsel. I cannot even afford necessary medical care. I am most vulnerable as I have been denied the right to have representation due to the thefts erroneously reflected in court records as legitimate funds received by Scott Mager.
I am asking that my health and safety be respected during and before deposition. I am requesting deposition be scheduled at a time agreeable to both parties. I look forward to the record accurately reflecting what has happened in this case as opposed to Mr. Mager's version of events as a party who did not participate in the underlying case. Additionally, I ask that it be noted that I am being denied representation in this matter due to impossibility noted above.
Thank you,
Deanna Williams
Several calls to Mager Paruas for comment by The Washington Standard have gone unreturned.
What Ms. Williams is currently going through since 2013, following the settlement, appears to be because her previous attorneys were not paid as agreed to in the retainer. If payment was made at the time, then this entire lawsuit is a fraud. The lawsuit and prior settlement of fees cannot both be true.
Ms. Williams is in contact with both federal authorities, as well as the Florida Bar and Florida Attorney General in the matter and an interview is being scheduled with a Florida Bar investigator in the matter.
When The Washington Standard reached out to attorney Allred regarding the payment of previous attorneys, she responded directly in an email stating,
We represented Ms. Williams approximately 7 years ago. She has had a number of lawyers since then.Any legal problems that Ms. Williams faces has nothing to do with our representation of her and there is no factual basis for the assertions set forth in your email.
We suggest that you review the public documents in the case of Victim Justice, P.C., et al v. v. Deanna Williams, Case number 13-CA-003181 pending in Lee County, Florida, prior to making any further false statements.
Also, you do not appear to have possession of all the relevant confidential documents. Your statements are based on incomplete information which has led you to a false and misleading conclusion. Ethical rules which prohibit disclosure of attorney client communications preclude us from providing additional documents to you or commenting further.
It is true, I don't have certain confidential documents. I agree. I have read the signed retainer agreement, and it seems fairly clear that if prior attorneys had been paid, Ms. Williams' current situation would not be what it is, as an attorney who had nothing to do with the case is going after her for over $1 million.
Ms. Williams has also left voicemail messages at Ms. Allred's office pleading with her and her associates to honor their agreement and pay the prior fees and liens with no response.
Now, I ask, why is that?
If you would like to help Ms. Williams not only survive as she has had virtually all her money stolen in the process of this, but acquire an attorney to fight back because they demand a retainer fee to take the case, there is a Go Fund Me page set up here.
You can contact Governor DeSantis on behalf of Ms. Williams below:
Executive Office of Governor Ron DeSantis
400 S Monroe St
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 488-7146
Additionally, you can contact Attorney General Ashley Moody on behalf of Ms. Williams below:
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
(850) 414-3300
Finally, it may even help to contact the Florida Bar on Ms. Williams’ behalf to see if they will begin to investigate ethics violations, negligence and corruption that appears to have taken place with regards to Ms. Williams’ representation, legal agreements and rulings by judges in the cases.
The Florida Bar contact information:
The Florida Bar
651 E. Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300
(850)561-5600