Frank Carson case ends with a $22.5 million legal settlement with Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County approved a $22.5 million settlement of lawsuits seeking damages for deceased Modesto attorney Frank Carson, his widow, stepdaughter and five others who were wrongfully accused almost 10 years ago in a sensational murder case.
In one of the largest civil rights court settlements in California, Carson’s estate and the late attorney’s wife, Georgia DeFilippo, each will receive $4 million. Christina DeFilippo, Carson’s stepdaughter, will receive $2.5 million, and $1.5 million will be paid to Eduardo Quintanar Jr., one of three CHP officers who were accused and later exonerated.
The settlement in federal court also includes $3.5 million and $1.85 million for former CHP officers Walter Wells and Scott McFarlane, respectively, and $1.85 million each for Turlock businessmen Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal, who were represented by the Morrison Foerster law firm of San Francisco.
County supervisors approved the settlement Tuesday. The terms were announced Thursday by Oakland Attorney J. Gary Gwilliam, who represented the Carson family and Quintanar.
The lawsuits were filed in federal court against Stanislaus County, the cities of Modesto and Ceres, former District Attorney Birgit Fladager, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira and law enforcement officers from the jurisdictions. The county settled after more minor defendants were dismissed from the lawsuits.
Plaintiffs alleged that Carson was framed in a murder-for-hire plot by members of the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Department and officers with Modesto, Ceres and Turlock police.
“When it was happening, I could not believe it,” Georgia DeFilippo said at a news conference Thursday. “We lost our business, we almost lost our home. We lost our faith in the system and our faith in the people at the county. It broke our hearts and our spirit.”
DeFilippo said she spent 59 days in jail before bail was set and she could post the amount, reportedly costing her $390,000. The lawsuits alleged that Carson’s longer time in jail ruined his health and hastened his death in 2020.
In 2015, prosecutors accused Carson of conspiring with the two local liquor store owners, Athwal and Atwal; the three CHP officers; and his family to murder Korey Kauffman and dispose of his body. Kauffman went missing in spring 2012 and his remains were found more than a year later in Stanislaus National Forest.
A Stanislaus County District Attorneys Office investigation focused attention on Carson, a longtime defense attorney, when an informant said Kauffman had stolen items from Carson’s property in Turlock, Gwilliam said. The prosecution claimed that Carson was angry at Kauffman for trying to steal irrigation pipes from his property.
The criminal charges against Georgia and Christina DeFilippo were dismissed following an 18-month preliminary hearing. Carson and the two businessmen were bound over for what became a 17-month jury trial and were acquitted in June 2019. The jury deliberated for only two days.
Gwilliam said Carson suffered debilitating health problems while held in jail without bail from August 2015 to December 2016. Charges against all the defendants were dismissed by either a jury or judge.
The eight people filed lawsuits in Eastern District of California court in Sacramento seeking damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution. The county agreed to settle with the plaintiffs as the case was scheduled for trial this week.
Georgia DeFilippo has said the she drained her finances and spent her retirement savings on defense and other costs. She said the multimillion-dollar settlement “is a lot of money, but it won’t make up for it.”
Gwilliam, in a statement, said Carson was falsely implicated by a coerced confession from Robert Lee Woody, who claimed his former employers Atwal and Athwal at Pop-N-Cork convenience store watched Carson’s property and killed Kauffman. The CHP officers were accused of helping to cover up the murder.
Lawsuits claimed retaliation against Carson
The lawsuits sought damages on the theory the criminal charges against Carson were in retaliation for his conduct as a defense attorney. According to the litigation, Carson was intensely disliked by district attorney officials for his aggressive tactics in winning cases and for making public accusations of corruption and abuse of power. Carson ran against Fladager when she sought re-election in 2014.
Gwilliam said the case against Carson lacked forensic and scientific evidence to show that Kauffman “was ever even on Carson’s property, let alone killed there.”
Gwilliam said: “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.”
County Counsel Thomas Boze said by email Wednesday that the county decided to settle the consolidated lawsuits to avoid protracted litigation and risks that a jury trial could result in a larger judgment.
Jeff Laugero, the current district attorney for Stanislaus County, released a statement indicating he didn’t have a role in the Carson case. “As District Attorney, I view the settlement from this 2015 case as a necessary step to close a difficult chapter and maintain our focus on current public safety priorities. Since taking office in 2023, my commitment has been, and continues to be, to pursue justice with integrity, fairness, transparency, and accountability based solely on evidence and the law, while building public trust by ensuring our criminal justice system works equitably for all.”
Laugero, who was elected in November 2022, said DA’s Office staff remain dedicated to public safety and a mission to serve the county through ethical, effective prosecution. Laugero has said he wasn’t part of the district attorney administrative staff during the prosecution of Carson and the seven others. He was promoted from chief deputy district attorney to assistant DA in October 2021.
Fladager said by email Thursday that the prosecution of Carson was not retaliatory. “Prosecutors only pursue a criminal case if they truly believe in the truth of the charges and also believe that they have sufficient, admissible evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury of twelve people. That was, and remains, the case here,” she wrote.
An 18-month preliminary hearing is ‘unusual’
Jayme Walker, a lead attorney for the Oakland firm, said an 18-month preliminary hearing is highly unusual. In the plaintiffs’ opinion, it was intended to wear down the Carsons and bleed their finances.
“Prosecutors have ethical duties to seek the truth,” Walker said. “That clearly did not happen in this case. What they were out to do was frame Frank Carson.”
Woody is the only person who has been convicted in Kauffman’s death. He was initially charged with murder before the eight people were arrested in 2015. Woody accepted a plea agreement of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison.
Gwilliam said attorneys for the plaintiffs in the civil rights case took 33 depositions of people involved in the investigations and the Carson case. The attorney said Woody, speaking under oath, recanted previous statements that he was involved in the murder.
After his acquittal, Carson struggled with diabetes and required dialysis treatments for failing kidneys. He was 66 years old when he died in August 2020, about 14 months after being acquitted.
Gwilliam said Quintanar was the only CHP officer to get his job back. The others lost their income, retirement benefits and careers.
Georgia DeFilippo said her husband loved the law and standing up for the underdog. But away from the office, he lived modestly, collecting antiques and buying and selling outdated items.
Georgia said she’s learned to enjoy the simple things again, but “I don’t feel vindicated enough.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
