Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Disbarred Miami lawyer Jose Manuel Camacho Jr admitted to forging the signatures of 7 judges on more than 100 structured settlement transfer documents in Broward County. After a long period of inactivity Camacho is due to be sentenced for his crimes.

Joe Patrick’s commentary in Above The Law provides an excellent thumbnail.

“The only word for this story is “awesome.” Not in its standard, colloquial meaning of approval, but in its more literal meaning of filling one with sheer awe. Not just the “awe” that any lawyer would allegedly forge judges’ signatures — not once, not twice, but 114 times! — incredible though that is, but “awe” that no one in the clerk’s office bothered to notice and “awe” that, but for the attentiveness of only TWO of the seven judges involved, this could still be going on. Pardon me while I put a certain AC/DC song on a loop”.

Servants of the Structured Settlement Factoring Industry Maxim…  “It’s OK to Forge Documents To Relieve Workload”?

Jose Manuel Camacho Jr. failed to take responsibility for his criminal activity before he got caught.

Jose Manuel Camacho Jr’s  lawyers, “while not trivializing” the crimes admitted to by the disbarred Miami ex-lawyer, are using a similar defense to that of Thomas Rubino, the former Paris & Chaikin paralegal from New York (who admitted to similar forgery crimes) in an effort to mitigate jail time for Camacho. In the sentencing submission it states that Camacho explained that his “decision to begin forging such Orders was the result of trying to keep up with the demands of a high volume practice”.  Most honest lawyers would hire additional staff. Camacho, an educated man who at the time he committed  his crimes, was a member of the Florida bar, decided that forging was the best option.

In their July 24, 2017 sentencing submission to Judge Ellen Sue Venzer,  Camacho’s defense lawyers argue for no jail time, just probation on the basis that Camacho did not financially gain from the forgeries.  Source: State of Florida v Jose M. Camacho, Jr.   17th Judicial Circuit Broward County Case 15-01374CF10A

In my opinion this is a specious argument.  If the defense wants to put up the “chestnut” that he was overwhelmed because he had so much work, then it begs the obvious question about what usually happens when a lawyer for one of the factoring companies completes their work. If you guessed ” they get paid” you would be right.

• Of course Camacho made money as the result of his forgeries.
• Of course he made “extra money” from the forgeries because high volume only stays high volume if you service the clients. Had Camacho not been able to keep up with work to his client’s satisfaction work might have gone to other lawyers.
  
• Whether or not Camacho’s clients knew of his forgeries is not the point, surely Camacho (or his former law firm) was paid money for his work on the cases involving the forged documents before the forgeries were discovered by the judges and ultimately Camacho’s former clients.

Prospective criminals following in the footsteps of Thomas Rubino and Jose Manuel Camacho Jr should not be incentivized by light sentences meted out to other crooks.  It simply is not in the public’s best interest for cash now industry crooks to do the crime and not do the time. The fact that this was the second case of massive forgery of transfer order suggests that there appears to be a real witches brew bubbling in the cauldron.