35 Facts About Richard Scruggs

Richard F "Dickie" Scruggs was born on May 17,1946 and is an American former naval aviator and disbarred trial lawyer.

Richard Scruggs is the brother-in-law of former US Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

Richard Scruggs later represented the state of Mississippi in the tobacco litigation of the 1990s.

Richard Scruggs represented hundreds of homeowners in lawsuits against insurance companies following Hurricane Katrina, and a national class action of patients against HMOs in the early 2000s.

Richard Scruggs entered a 2009 guilty plea for a scheme to influence Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter.

Richard Scruggs was sentenced to five years in prison on June 27,2008, by US District Judge Neal Brooks Biggers Jr.

Richard Scruggs served six years in federal prison and was released in 2014.

Richard Scruggs was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, on May 17,1946, but grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Richard Scruggs told Time that his father left the family when Scruggs was five years old.

Richard Scruggs was then raised by his mother, Helen, who worked as a legal secretary at the Ingalls shipyard.

Richard Scruggs was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi.

Richard Scruggs graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1976, where he was a classmate of Mike Moore, a close friend who later became the attorney general of Mississippi.

Richard Scruggs began his career with a prestigious law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, where he often defended insurance companies.

Richard Scruggs encountered his first client in 1984 when he was approached by a shipyard worker looking for help with a lung disease.

Richard Scruggs paid for the client's medical tests which revealed the medical ailment to be asbestosis.

Richard Scruggs took on 4200 direct clients and served as co-counsel to another 6000.

Richard Scruggs eventually won a settlement and earned $6 million from the state in legal fees.

State Auditor Steve Patterson felt the arrangement was unethical, as Moore had no specific legal authority to contract out the work of his office to private attorneys and Richard Scruggs had donated $20,000 to his 1991 campaign fund.

The meeting resulted in Patterson dropping the inquiry and Richard Scruggs reducing his fee for the state by $63,000.

The total in fees Richard Scruggs received resulted in public controversy regarding the amount that lawyers are allowed to take from large settlements.

Richard Scruggs stated that his firm held a reserve to help challenge future cases and cover costs, allowing additional financial leverage in addressing the legal infractions of major corporations.

In June 2004, Richard Scruggs led a lawsuit against 13 non-profit hospital groups, alleging they hoarded funds gained from tax breaks while dispensing inadequate care.

In 2003, Richard Scruggs tried and won a national class action against Lehman Brothers, with a verdict of $51 million for financing a predatory lending scheme.

On February 10,2009, Richard Scruggs pleaded guilty in federal court in Aberdeen, Mississippi, to one count of that indictment charging mail fraud in the corruption of a public official.

Richard Scruggs was sentenced to a seven-year term to run concurrently with the five-year sentence, adding two years to the total.

The appeal was unsuccessful and Richard Scruggs returned to jail in April 2013 to complete his sentence.

Richard Scruggs was released from jail and placed under house arrest on March 20,2014.

Richard Scruggs has made monetary contributions to the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and John McCain; the senatorial campaigns of Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Biden, and McCain; and to numerous other candidates from both major political parties.

Richard Scruggs reportedly contributed to Tom Daschle, Susan Collins, and Harry Reid.

Richard Scruggs was scheduled to host a fundraiser at his home for Senator Clinton's presidential campaign, on December 15,2007, to be attended by former President Bill Clinton.

Richard Scruggs lived in a $5 million mansion in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Richard Scruggs name was removed from the building following Richard Scruggs guilty plea to bribery in March 2007.

John Grisham reported that Richard Scruggs, while serving his sentence in federal prison, worked to help inmates get GED certificates, and expressed astonishment at the low level of literacy among the inmates.

Richard Scruggs taught nonviolent offenders, many who were imprisoned on drug charges, helping them to acquire their GEDs, and nearly 60 students under his tutelage graduated.

Richard Scruggs has partnered with the Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program, which provides a remedial education and marketable skills to students seeking a GED.