ACBA members J. Gary Gwilliam and Jayme L. Walker, of ACBA Leadership Firm Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer recovered a huge settlement on behalf of Modesto attorney and his family wrongfully accused of murder by Stanislaus County.
For Immediate Release
Oakland, CA
April 16, 2025
Press Conference scheduled for 10:00AM, Thursday, April 17, 2025, at the law offices of Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer, 1999 Harrison St., Suite 1600, Oakland CA
OAKLAND LAW FIRM RECOVERS HUGE SETTLEMENT ON BEHALF OF MODESTO ATTORNEY AND HIS FAMILY WRONGFULLY ACCUSED OF MURDER BY STANISLAUS COUNTY.
The combined $22.5 MILLION settlement of the 8 CIVIL RIGHTS CASES Is Reportedly One of the Largest Civil Rights Cases Ever Resolved in the State of California
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved a $22.5 million settlement for the deceased criminal defense attorney, Frank Carson, and 7 other people wrongfully and maliciously accused of murder, including Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter. Carson became the target of a retaliatory investigation cooked up against him by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office in retaliation for his high-profile successes in the courtroom and his accusations of corruption against District Attorney Birgit Fladager and her investigative staff. $12 million was negotiated by Jayme Walker and J. Gary Gwilliam of Oakland law firm Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli and Brewer on behalf of Frank Carson, his wife, Georgia DeFilippo, his stepdaughter Christina DeFilippo, and CHP Officer Eduardo Quintanar. After years of civil litigation, Stanislaus County is finally paying for the horrendous abuse of government power and the malicious prosecutions of 8 innocent people. $10.5 million will be paid to former CHP Officers Walter Wells and Scott McFarlane and local business owners, Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal.
These cases arise from false arrests and malicious prosecution cases against a long-time criminal defense attorney, Frank Carson, and seven other people Frank Carson was well-known and reviled by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office—and some other local law enforcement in Modesto, California because of his aggressive and successful style of criminal defense and his public accusations of dishonesty, corruption, and abuse of power. Carson scored several high-profile wins against the DA’s Office and even ran against Birgit Fladager in the 2014 DA election.
The case began in March of 2012 when Korey Kauffman, a young petty thief and methamphetamine addict, disappeared. Law enforcement at the Stanislaus District Attorney’s Office became involved when a felon informant told police that Kauffman may have gone onto Mr. Carson’s property to steal things from him. As soon as Carson’s name came up, the District Attorney’s Office started an investigation of Carson for murder even though Kauffman was just a missing person at that time.
In August of 2013 Kauffman’s body was found in a remote area of the Stanislaus National Forest.
Another methamphetamine addict named Robert B. Woody was allegedly implicated in the murder of Kauffman when he made some meandering comments about the murder to his girlfriend indicating that he alone had cut up Kauffman’s body and fed him to pigs.
Mr. Woody was arrested on March 1, 2014, and interrogated for seven hours and threatened with the death penalty. For hours he denied any involvement. But then he was taken on an 18-minute bathroom break, and he finally relented and repeated the information he was fed by investigators who had a long acrimonious history with Carson. This led to a so-called “confession” that was clearly coerced wherein he accused his former employers at the Pop-N-Cork convenience store of patrolling Carson’s property for thieves and killing Kauffman.
There was no forensic or scientific evidence to indicate that Kauffman was ever even on the Carson property, let alone killed there. The District Attorney’s Office and their investigators, including the Sheriff’s Department, who all disliked Carson because of his success, decided to go after a group of innocent people, including Carson, his wife Georgia DeFilippo, his stepdaughter Christina DeFilippo, three Highway Patrol officers and two local business men—most of whom didn’t even know each other—and accused them all of conspiracy regarding Kauffman’s death. They were all arrested in August of 2015.
After one of the longest preliminary hearings in California history—eighteen months—all criminal charges against Georgia and Christina DeFilippo were dismissed for lack of probable cause to believe they had committed any crime. Indeed, the DA’s Office simply went after them in hopes that Carson would plea to spare his family.
The case went to trial against Frank Carson and Daljit Atwal and Baljit Athwal, the owners of a liquor store named the Pop-N- Cork. After a seventeen-month jury trial, all the defendants were acquitted by a jury after a mere two days of deliberation. Ultimately all the charges against all the plaintiffs in this case were either dismissed by a judge, a jury, or otherwise dismissed. Thereafter, all 8 wrongfully arrested people filed this false arrest and malicious prosecution lawsuit.
Unfortunately, Frank Carson, who had become ill while in jail awaiting the trial on a “no bail” charge, died on August 12, 2020.
After over seven years of investigation and prosecution, not one of the Plaintiffs was ever convicted of anything. They were all innocent. Robert Woody, who pled guilty, also completely recanted his story and says he made it all up due to coercion. No one has ever been found to have killed Korey Kauffman, although there were many serious suspects that have been ignored.
J. Gary Gwilliam, co-lead counsel for four of the Plaintiffs stated:
“This case is a cautionary tale for what happens when Government, and especially law enforcement, exercises their unfettered power to accuse and prosecute innocent people for revenge, retaliation, and retribution. Fortunately, through the immense efforts of very capable lawyers, the victims of these wrongful arrests and prosecutions have obtained some measure of justice by means of these very large settlements”.
Jayme L. Walker, co-lead counsel for four of the Plaintiffs, followed:
“The Stanislaus County DA’s Office tried to rid itself of a successful adversary by prosecuting Frank Carson and his family for a crime they did not commit. Carson fought the system as a criminal defense attorney but at the same time he represented its most basic and fundamental rights. He and 7 other innocent people paid dearly to protect these rights. Their fortitude in seeing this case through, for standing up against all odds, is an inspiration and it was an honor to fight alongside them”.
During the years of subsequent civil litigation, the Plaintiffs’ attorneys took over thirty-three depositions and won several important hearings. Robert Woody, who served 6 years of prison time for his coerced confession, entirely recanted and testified under oath in the civil rights cases that he made it all up and was never involved in any way in Kauffman’s murder. More details of this shocking case will be revealed at the press conference.
The cases settled in the Eastern District of California just one day before they were originally set for trial.
The following amounts are the total settlements:
Represented by J. Gary Gwilliam and Jayme L. Walker, Oakland ($12M recovery):
Frank Carson Estate – $4,000,000.00
Georgia DeFilippo – $4,000,000.00
Christina DeFilippo – $2,500,000.00
Eduardo Quintanar, Jr. – $1,500,000.00
Represented by Morrison Foerster, San Francisco ($10.5M recovery):
Walter Wells – $3,500,000.00
Scott McFarlane – $1,850,000.00
Baljit Athwal – $1,850,000.00
Daljit Atwal – $1,850,000.00
Morrison Foerster also received attorney fees
A press conference will be held at the office of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 17, 2025.
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1600, Oakland, CA 94612. Phone: (510) 832-5411
Georgia DeFilippo will be present at the press conference to answer questions with J. Gary Gwilliam and Jayme L. Walker of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer.
Contact: J. Gary Gwilliam and/or Diane Rames
510-832-5411 ggwilliam@giccb.com or drames@giccb.com
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