Partners jailed over class-actions scam

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The firm maintained a stable of paid plaintiffs who agreed to be named in lawsuits in exchange for a cut of the legal fees. The judge branded the scam "breathtaking".

David Bershad, 68, and Steven Schulman, 57, were sentenced in separate hearings in which Judge John Walter rejected calls for leniency. Bershad will also pay $8 million (£5 million). Schulman has paid about $2 million in fines and forfeiture of gains from the tainted cases.

In 2007, Bershad became the first of four Milberg partners to plead guilty to the wide-ranging kickbacks scheme that helped the firm, now known as Milberg, become one of the top class-action firms.

Prosecutors say the scam went on for 20 years and more than $11 million was paid to professional plaintiffs.

Milberg Weiss has a string of high-profile scalps on its belt including Shell, Vodafone and KPMG. By its own estimates it won more than $45 billion in suits against corporations.

In 2004 alone the firm paid out $30 billion in settlements to investors in class actions.