Convicted sex trafficker sues former attorney for mishandling $2.1M in gold
The Brief
Convicted sex trafficker Anton Lazzaro claims his former attorney either stole or lost $1.6 million in gold.
The attorney, Hillary Parsons, recorded three videos when she picked up the gold at an FBI office in 2021.
The law firm that is also named in the suit called Lazzaro's claims "unsubstantiated."
(FOX 9) - A convicted child sex trafficker sent to prison for decades for paying teenage girls to have sex with him is suing his former attorney, claiming she either stole or lost more than half of his $2.1 million gold fortune.
What the lawsuit says
Anton Lazzaro on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court against his former attorney, accusing her of mishandling his gold fortune.
In the lawsuit, Lazzaro claims Hillary Parsons, who represented him in his federal sex trafficking case, ignored his instructions for picking up his gold from the FBI office in Brooklyn Center in September 2021. The FBI seized the gold when it raided his downtown Minneapolis condo in December 2020.
Lazzaro claims that Parsons retrieved the gold in her personal vehicle, not an armored truck, as instructed. He also said she failed to put the gold in a safety deposit box at a bank and instead gave it to Lazzaro's employee, who later realized that more than half of it was missing.
The backstory
Lazzaro, 34, was convicted in March 2023 on multiple counts of sex trafficking.
Prosecutors said he conspired with another woman to recruit teenage girls – all underage – to have sex with him. They said he sent vehicles to pick them up and bring them to his downtown condo, where he supplied them with alcohol, cell phones and emergency contraceptives.
The scheme happened between May and December 2020, prosecutors said.
What the videos show
In the lawsuit, Lazzaro submitted as evidence three videos that Parsons recorded to prove that she picked up and transported the gold.
In the videos, Parsons is heard singing while repeatedly mentioning that she has not touched the gold. Lazzaro called the videos "erratic" and "bizarre." The final video ends with Parsons asking Lazzaro's associate Yele Yang to sign for the pricey cargo. The transfer of the gold is not depicted in any of the videos.
What the attorney says
"As I leave, not touching any metals, following the kind of cute FBI guy," said Parsons as she left the FBI facility in Brooklyn Center.
"Singing an obnoxious song as I go. Note that I haven't touched anything."
What the law firm says
In a statement on Tuesday, Tamburino Law Group, a Minneapolis-based firm, denied wrongdoing, calling Lazzaro's claims "unsubstantiated."
The statement read: "Mr. Lazzaro has made unsubstantiated claims in this complaint he personally filed from prison this afternoon.
"The facts are that the entire team of retained legal counsel involved in this case from multiple law firms acted with full client authority.
Ms. Parsons followed the specific documented directions from the client when transferring property from FBI custody back to the client's designated representative. This property transfer happened over the course of a few minutes and in the presence of the FBI.
"The Minnesota Board of Professional Responsibility has reviewed Mr. Lazzaro's complaint and found no ethical violations."
What's next
Lazzaro has requested a jury trial. He also said he looks forward to proving his innocence in the child sex trafficking case for which he is serving a 21-year prison sentence.
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