Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing a malpractice lawsuit brought by former clients Adam and Daniel Kaplan, according to reports.The lawsuit alleges that Blanche, while working at the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in 2022, forged the twins’ signatures on an engagement agreement and charged them excessively for legal services related to a financial fraud investigation.

The Kaplans claim they hired Blanche with the understanding that they would receive discounted legal rates, but they were later billed nearly $678,000 on the first invoice alone.By November 2022, the brothers reportedly had already paid approximately $1.65 million while additional unpaid invoices remained outstanding.The complaint further alleges that Blanche billed around 2,475 hours at rates close to $1,000 per hour, far beyond what had allegedly been promised.According to the article, Blanche eventually stopped working on the case because of unpaid legal fees.The lawsuit also claims that he withheld evidence that could have benefited the Kaplan brothers’ defense.A handwriting expert reportedly supported the allegation that signatures on the engagement letter had been forged.Blanche and his former law firm deny all accusations and have filed a countersuit seeking roughly $1.2 million in unpaid fees.

The legal dispute comes after both Kaplan brothers were indicted on charges including wire fraud and money laundering, with one of them later convicted and sentenced to prison.