Huntingdon Valley Lawyer Suspended For 1 Year In $4.2M Fraud Case

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA — A veteran personal injury attorney and Huntingdon Valley man who made millions on cases he diverted from his law firm has been suspended for a year, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania determined.

The decision was made following a guilty plea made by Neil I. Mittin, 64, on the charge of mail fraud.

Mittin's temporary suspension begins on Dec. 8.

Criminal sentencing is still forthcoming in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania, where Mittin faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Mittin was at attorney at Gay & Chacker, formerly Gay & Chacker & Mittin, based on the 1700 block of Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, for years.

Beginning in 2008, Mittin began putting aside a number incoming clients — some personal injury matters, some other types — and then referring them to attorneys in other firms, officials said.

He did so without the clients asking, and often without them even knowing or understanding that they'd been referred elsewhere. He was able to keep it under wraps from his employer by closing the files on those clients, making it appear that a settlement or resolution was impossible, and the case therefore not one that should be taken on by the firm.

The outside attorneys, in turn, paid Mittin a referral fee of around 33 to 40 percent of the fees received by the attorneys if the case in question was resolved successfully, officials said. All told, the personal injury matters that Mittin sold made about $10,800,000 in settlements and recoveries, and Mittin himself made about $4,200,000, the US Attorney's Office said.

The scheme continued for a full decade, up through 2018, authorities said.