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Director for CA state senator named in CAIR lawsuit
Tahra Goraya, district director for California state Sen. Carol Liu, was served June 10 with legal papers naming her as a defendant in a federal fraud and racketeering lawsuit. We are aware of it [Goraya being served with papers], said Robert Oaks, Lius legislative director. [The case] is from a previous employer, not since she has been with Senator Liu. He added that he could not comment any further on the case or Gorayas involvement but said she continues as district director, a job she has held since Dec. 1, 2008.Before joining Lius staff, Goraya served as national director at Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). According to the complaint filed by former CAIR clients, the organization hired Morris Days to serve as the resident attorney and manager for civil rights in their offices in Virginia. It was later found that Days was practicing without a law degree and had defrauded several clients of CAIR. He purportedly took money from the clients, said attorney David Yerushalmi, who represents the four plaintiffs. According to Yerushalmi, nine CAIR officials, including Goraya, named in the suit did not do an adequate background check on Days. It would have only taken one phone call [to learn Day did not have proper credentials], Yerushalmi said. He added that officials did not act quickly once they were made aware of Days' non-attorney status. Rather than doing the correct thing they joined with Mr. Days and continued the fraud, he said. After they fired him they continued to cover up [the issue], causing enormous damage [to clients]. Yerushalmi alleges that CAIR officials responded only after they realized how many clients were actually affected. The national [division] shut down the Virginia office of CAIR and sent their national legal attorney to collect client files and take them back to their Washington, D.C. office, he said. We have evidence that Goraya was fully aware of what took place and engaged in the [cover-up] behavior. Although Yerushalmi represents only four clients he said that there are many more affected by Days actions. According to CAIR [estimations] there are hundreds, he said. Clients thought lawsuits were filed and later found out they were not filed, leaving many in legal limbo, he said. I represent two African American Muslims who were clearly harassed at their place of employment, the attorney said. One of his clients was a woman who had thought Days filed a lawsuit against her employer on harassment and discrimination charges. She was taking advice from Mr. Days and did what he told her to do, Yerushalmi said. He said the advice included telling her employer that she had legal representation, but Days had not filed a lawsuit. Once her employer found out there was no legal action taking place she was fired. CAIR is a public interest law firm that holds itself out to protect the rights of Muslim Americans, he said. To operate and cover this up to protect themselves not to protect their clients that is horrendous. The CAIR defendants have filed a perfunctory motion to dismiss. Posted by: ryuge 2009-06-16 |
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