Texas Attorney Charged with Skimming $2.4M from Settlements

A Houston plaintiffs’ attorney known as “Car Wreck Clyde” is awaiting court proceedings after being charged with skimming as much as $2.4 million in client settlement proceeds over the past decade, federal prosecutors said.

Clyde J. Moore, 62, and his former office manager, Mark A. Broussard, 63, were indicted by a federal grand jury in mid-April and were arraigned April 24. The U.S. Attorney for Southern Texas, Alamdar Hamdani, said in a statement that the two had allegedly inflated expenses and misled injured clients into believing that the law firm had paid medical providers more than they had.

That meant clients received a smaller share of the settlement funds from insurers, Hamdani and the indictment alleges.

“At times, Moore intentionally failed to disclose and pass along the cost savings from the reduced medical bills to his clients and thereby skimmed for himself a portion of the settlement funds that belonged to his clients,” reads the indictment.

Moore then allegedly used the money to purchase luxury items, including sports cars and private school tuition for his children, prosecutors said.

Other employees at the law firm helped Moore keep track of the amounts being skimmed, the indictment notes. When Broussard agreed to work at the firm in 2012, he was promised half of the skimmed funds, prosecutors said.

The indictment did not indicate what led investigators to uncover the alleged scheme and an arrest warrant was not made public. But the indictment lists multiple checks Moore had written to medical providers and to his employees, along with correspondence with insurance companies. He also is accused of filing false federal tax returns.

If convicted of the charges, the two men could face up to five years in prison, plus restitution and fines of up to $250,000.

Moore, known for his advertisements and his specialization in auto accident cases, has been a licensed attorney since 1991, according to the State Bar of Texas. In 2020, he was sued for alleging that the firm used several tow truck drivers to solicit clients, staring in 2012.