UCLA professor settles suit, will repay research charity $140,000

A UCLA School of Medicine professor of cardiothoracic surgery has settled a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general forcing him to repay $140,000 to a research charity he founded and removing him from multiple positions he held within the charity.

In the lawsuit filed in September, state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown alleged that Dr. Gerald Buckberg and five officers of the nonprofit L.B. Research & Education Foundation used money from the charity to fund their personal business ventures and medical research activities.

Under the agreements of the settlement, Buckberg must return the diverted funds to the charity and will only be allowed to serve as the director – giving up his other positions as manager and chief executive officer.

--Raja Abdulrahim

Comments

[Tom]

Doesn't surprise me!

[John Mc Clane]

Sad isn't it!

[Rae]

Sounds like embezzelment to me! Why is he even allowed to be still working there? Isn't theft justification for dismissal-instead he is demoted to Director (still has a title) and kept on the payroll. No wonder Ca. is going broke-

[Sarah J.]

Jerry Brown jumps on this fraud of Dr. Buckberg but does nothing about the Autry Museum Board of Directors and their ongoing effort to pillage the collections of the Southwest Museum in order to exhibit them under the Autry's name at the Griffith Park Museum location. The current exhibit of native American baskets at the Autry is a violation of donor restrictions imposed by Carolyn Boeing Poole who donated the basketry collection to the Southwest Museum with the proviso that the collection be exhibited at that location. The Autry Board has spent years smoozing Jerry Brown to politically avoid accountability for their ignoring donor restrictions on the Southwest Museum. Is Brown going to continue to sit on the sidelines regarding Autry while issuing press releases about how tough he was on Dr. Buckberg at UCLA?

[person]

This Buckberg is a self-promoting individual, looking out for himself to an almost pathological degree and litigating whenever he encounters disagreement. This case is only the tip of the iceberg. The Times should investigate further to see the harm that he's caused.