June 4 (Reuters) - The State Bar of California on

Thursday filed disciplinary charges against three lawyers with

Downtown LA Law Group, including two of its founders, widening

its scrutiny of a plaintiffs' law firm already facing probes by

other government agencies as well as a racketeering lawsuit by

Uber ( UBER ).

The state bar's Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) said

Thursday it has filed disciplinary charges against two of DTLA's

founders, Daniel Azizi and Farid Yaghoubtil, over allegations

that they operated a legal practice in states where they did not

have licenses. Another DTLA attorney, Igor Fradkin, was also

charged with practicing law in Texas and Maryland without court

approval and without local counsel.

The state bar's chief trial counsel brought similar charges

against DTLA's third founder, Salar Hendizadeh, in March. OCTC

said Thursday they plan to prosecute all four disciplinary cases

at once.

"When attorneys extend their practice into jurisdictions

where they are not licensed or allow staff to engage in

unauthorized legal work in those jurisdictions, they put clients

at risk," Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said in a

statement.

A spokesperson for DTLA said in a statement that "we look

forward to presenting the facts." The spokesperson said the

firm's lawyers worked on cases involving "multijurisdictional

issues" and that "co-counsel relationships were engaged to

ensure representation was at the highest possible caliber."

Hendizadeh in April asked the State Bar Court of California,

which oversees disciplinary complaints filed by the state bar,

to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that the state bar

did not adequately allege misconduct.

The California Supreme Court has the final say on all

attorney disciplinary matters.

DTLA is separately being probed for filing allegedly false

claims under a $4 billion settlement Los Angeles County reached

last year to resolve more than 6,800 sexual abuse claims dating

back to 1959.

The Los Angeles Times reported that DTLA represented nine

people who said they were allegedly paid to file claims under

the sexual abuse settlement, and that some of the claims were

false. DTLA denied any wrongdoing to the LA Times. In November

2025, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said

his office was investigating any false claims submitted to the

settlement.

The state bar has also launched its own investigation into the

settlement, according to a January filing in Los Angeles County

Superior Court. One month later, the Office of the LA County

Counsel said it was investigating DTLA and others for alleged

fraud connected to the settlement.

A DTLA spokesperson said although the firm cannot comment on

ongoing litigation, "we are confident that the facts, when they

are able to come out, will show that the LA Times reporting was

flawed - to say the least. Downtown LA Law Group continues to

provide the highest caliber of service to our clients."

Uber ( UBER ) is separately waging a federal lawsuit against DTLA and

others, alleging the lawyers conspired with medical providers to

create and submit artificially inflated medical bills. The

firm's spokesperson said Uber's ( UBER ) allegations are baseless and "an

attempt to deflect attention away from the sexual assault

lawsuits filed by women across the country."