Exposed: The luxury lifestyle of an American lawyer willing to profit from the car loan scandal

A wealthy American lawyer whose lifestyle includes private jets, beachside properties and posh yachts is among the predatory legal eagles trying to cash in on Britain’s growing car finance scandal.

Harris Pogust, 61, a veteran of the American legal scene, has boasted online about his enormous mansion, which includes a swimming pool, gym and wine cellar.

His London-based company, Pogust Goodhead (PG), provides him and his British partner, Thomas Goodhead, with the means to live in luxury through the company’s share of compensation awards in major cases. , which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. pounds.

The firm told The Mail on Sunday that 60,467 of its clients from previous cases had been added to a car loan case.

When he wins class-action lawsuits, he pockets up to 50 percent of victims’ money. But consumer experts say motorists can file their own claim and keep 100 percent of any payment.

New Jersey-born Pogust frequently flaunts his wealth on Instagram, including a post last month showing off his six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home. His wife’s social media shows photos of Pogust and his dog on a private jet and photos aboard yachts.

Goodhead is an Oxford and Cambridge-educated lawyer who co-founded the firm with Pogust in 2018.

It is locked in a high-profile battle at London’s High Court with Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP over the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil, which killed 19 people and contaminated waterways and land spanning several villages in 2015. estimates that the class action will be valued at £36 billion. PG will reportedly receive up to 30 percent for individuals and companies.

But Brazil’s former ambassador to the UK, Rubens Barbosa, accused the firm of encouraging hundreds of thousands of claimants to reject a £24bn settlement plan in favor of continuing action at the High Court, which They have no guarantee of winning.

A PG spokesperson said: “Pogust Goodhead represents 620,000 victims whose lives have been devastated; we make no excuses for using the means at our disposal to try to level a hugely unequal playing field against some of the largest, most powerful and with better resources. companies in the world.”

The firm itself is looking to save costs as it spends millions on its legal crusades, including plans to cut around 20 per cent of its staff with up to 50 job losses in its London office, according to reports.

The Court of Appeal ruled last month that commissions paid to car dealers can be illegal if they are not brought to the attention of customers. The companies involved include Close Brothers, one of the UK’s oldest commercial banks, as well as Lloyds and Santander.