DA Boudin takes another action against a lawyer with 18 felony charges related to fraudulent ADA lawsuits

(SAN FRANCISCO) District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced his second action taken related to the alleged fraudulent Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits. Beverly Hills attorney Kousha Berokim was indicted by a grand jury on 18 felony charges of grand theft.

Berokim was indicted with one charge of grand theft from an elder, Albert Chang who received the legal letter from Berokim and is the owner of the Chinatown Kite Shop, 14 charges of grand theft against 14 businesses by false pretense, and three charges of attempted grand theft by false pretense with respect to the three additional small businesses in San Francisco who refused to pay after receiving emails or letters from Berokim.

According to Boudin, Berokim was allegedly sending 17 San Francisco businesses and nonprofit organizations emails and letters in which he purported to represent a blind Californian, threatening those businesses with federal lawsuits under ADA for alleged website-accessibility violations.

The 17 businesses, including the Chinatown Kite Shop on Grant Avenue in San Francisco Chinatown, were demanded to enter into settlements and pay him sums of money to resolve the claims. 14 businesses paid and three refused.

In 2021, over 100 businesses in Chinatown received letters or lawsuit papers being accused of ADA violations that the disabled individuals were not able to be fairly served as other customers.

After 9-month investigation on the ADA lawsuits by the District Attorney's Office, Boudin announced his first legal action on April 11 of suing San Diego based law firm Potter Handy for filing fraudulent lawsuits on behalf of his clients with disabilities.

The criminal indictment is Boudin's second action on the ADA abuses. "We presented the case to a grand jury a few weeks ago. We are very pleased to see the grand jury returns with 18 felony charges against Mr. Berokim," Boudin said. “We continue to take action against unscrupulous attorneys who are exploiting vulnerable small business owners.”

Based on the investigation by the District Attorney's Office , the emails and letters from Berokim were false. Berokim has never filed any ADA cases and had no intent to file them. For at least one business, Berokim's client never visited the website in question. 14 businesses paid him amounts of $950 or more, while the remaining three victims refused to pay him and were not sued.

Albert Chang, owner of the Chinatown Kite Shop, thanked the action taken by Boudin. "It was the right decision made by Boudin to pursue and go after the dishonest individuals. Boudin has come to my store to discuss the case with me," said Chang in a phone interview.

Chang, who is 91 years old and has owned the Chinatown Kite Shop for over four decades, recalled when he first received the letter from Berokim last year. He was so shocked and angry. "A lawyer is supposed to fight for justice for the people. Instead some lawyers prey on the small businesses and victims in order to make more money for their own," Chang said.

Berokim did not respond to our request for comment by press time.