The Department of Justice recently revealed that a lawyer in Roundup cancer lawsuits has been sentenced to two years in prison for attempted extortion.

Prosecutors sentences Roundup lawyer Timothy Litzenburg to two years in federal prison while his partner Daniel Kincheloe was sentenced to one year of prison time. In June, the two lawyers pled guilty to attempted extortion of a weed killer manufacturer.

The company has not been named by federal prosecutors, but officials have revealed that it is a “privately owned chemical manufacturer, with facilities located all over the world.” The parent company of the manufacturer is reportedly a “publicly traded U.S. corporation” which acquired the threatened company in 2018, according to prosecutors.

The Roundup lawyers allegedly approached the company – which has not been named – in October 2019 in an attempt to leverage $200 million from the manufacturer. Allegedly, Litzenburg and Kincheloe threatened to go public with allegations that the global chemical manufacturer sold weedkillers which could have adverse health effects.

Over the past several years, the attorneys’ practices have reportedly focused on litigation against Monsanto in lawsuit claiming that Roundup causes cancer.

The lawyers reportedly said that these allegations would result in legal action from “thousands of future plaintiffs” which would cost the company “billions, setting aside the associated drop in stock price and reputation damage.” According to the Roundup lawyer threat, this liability would “certainly balloon into an existential threat.”

Instead of facing this liability, the lawyers offered the company a deal in which they would pay $200 million to put the issue to rest. However, after being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Roundup lawyer and his partner now face two and one years in federal prison, respectively.

“This is a case where two attorneys blew well past the line of aggressive advocacy and crossed deep into the territory of illegal extortion, in a brazen attempt to enrich themselves by extracting millions of dollars from a multinational company,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a press release.

“Today’s pleas underscore that when crimes are committed, members of the bar, like all members of the public, will be held accountable for their actions.”

Roundup Cancer Lawsuits

Monsanto and its parent company Bayer have faced thousands of lawsuits over the past several years from plaintiffs who say they developed cancer in connection with Roundup, a popular weedkiller. Many plaintiffs argue that they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being exposed to the weedkiller’s active ingredient – glyphosate – during the course of their job or personal use of the weedkiller.

Some Roundup cancer lawsuits have resulted in jury awards to affected consumers. In 2018, a California state jury awarded $289 million to a groundskeeper who allegedly developed cancer after being exposed to Roundup. In March 2019, another trial in California ended with a staggering $2 billion award to a couple who say they used Roundup for decades before they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Some of these awards were later reduced or revised for fairness by the court.

After years of litigation, Bayer recently agreed to pay $10 billion to resolve the claims against them. Although this is a large payout, the deal allows Monsanto to continue selling Roundup without adding safety warnings to the product’s labeling.

Depending on the strength of an individual’s claim, they will reportedly receive payouts between $5,000 and $250,000, the New York Times reported. $1.25 billion of the settlement will reportedly be put aside to compensate future plaintiffs.

In addition to providing payments to plaintiffs, the settlement will reportedly establish an independent panel of experts who will aim to evaluate Roundup and glyphosate’s safety. Specifically, the panel will aim to determine if glyphosate causes cancer and, if so, what exposure levels or dosage makes the chemical dangerous to humans.

The panel will not make a legal determination about liability, but their decision could have significant impacts on future litigation against Bayer. If the panel determines that glyphosate is in fact carcinogenic, Bayer will not have the ability to argue against this fact in court. However, if the panel decides that glyphosate doesn’t pose a risk of cancer, Roundup class action lawyers will be similarly bound and cannot argue the opposite in court.

Find a Roundup Lawyer

Individuals who have developed health problems in connection with Roundup usage may be eligible to take legal action. Finding a qualified Roundup attorney is the first step in the legal process, but can be overwhelming. Instead of struggling to find a qualified lawyer, Top Class Actions can put readers in contact with experienced legal professionals through the form on this page.

The Roundup Lawyer Lawsuits are Case Nos. 3:20-cr-00013 and 3:20-cr-00014 both in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

Join a Roundup Weed Killer Cancer Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may qualify for this Roundup cancer lawsuit investigation if you were diagnosed with one of these conditions after using Roundup:

• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• B-cell lymphoma
• T-cell lymphoma
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
• Hairy cell lymphoma

See if you qualify by filling out the form on this page for a case evaluation with an experienced Roundup lawsuit attorney. 

Get a Case Evaluation

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.