LOS ANGELES — Brian S. Kabateck, the group’s attorney in the 1999 and 2005 Armenian Genocide insurance litigation, on April 4 offered an open invitation to the Armenian Bar Association to conduct a thorough investigation into the handling of the claims settlement of the French insurance company AXA by Kabateck LLP, a firm of which he is the founder and managing partner.
Kabateck sent a letter to the Armenian Bar which addresses March 23, 2022 Los Angeles Times article “A Blood Money Betrayal: How Corruption Spoiled Reparations for Armenian Genocide Victims.” This article, according to Kabateck, recycles decade-old “baseless insinuations” and is “demonstrably false”.
“I have always been troubled and saddened by the deplorable actions of the criminals who conspired to steal money from the Armenian community and the rightful heirs of those who perished during the genocide,” Kabateck wrote. “That’s why I worked so hard to uncover the crimes committed by Vartkes Yeghiayan, who died while being prosecuted by the state bar; Rita Mahdessian, a felon convicted of multiple suspensions of her license to practice law; and Berj Boyajian, who was ultimately convicted for his actions that I helped bring to light.
The letter affirms the absence of new revelations in the Los Angeles Times article, which, according to a press release of the same date from Kabateck’s law firm, “involved speaking with associates of Mr. Yeghiayan, who seek to avenge his deservedly stained reputation”.
Kabateck’s letter says the various allegations against him and his company had been investigated and dismissed in the past by the United States District Court, the State Bar of California and various prosecuting authorities. He also denied the accusation that he actively denied claims to insurance money, saying he was not involved in the claims process.
The letter reveals that the company has offered to allow an independent accountant hired by the Los Angeles Time to review both the firm’s and Kabateck’s finances and offered to share the costs of a law firm selected by the newspaper to investigate the existence of legal or ethical misconduct on the part of Kabateck LLP . However, he states that the newspaper refused both offers and did not make them public.
