Award Winning Hollywood Director Files Suit Against the State of California and the L.A. District At

Award winning Hollywood director, Dror Soref ("Not Forgotten"), will file suit this week against a variety of governmental agencies and employees including the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Business Oversight and the California Department of Insurance.

Mr. Soref’s claims allege that he was falsely arrested and imprisoned for over 140 days when he was taken into custody, along with co-defendant Michelle Seward, for violations of California securities laws associated with raising funds for filmmaking. While Ms. Seward was active in raising funds, review of investigative reports establish that Mr. Soref was not involved with fundraising and virtually unknown to investors prior to his arrest. Mr. Soref was completely exonerated of the charges.

While under arrest, Mr. Soref spent over 140 days in jail, despite the statute of limitations having run for 70 of the 72 charged offenses. Furthermore, when faced with a $2.7 million bail, it was asserted that Mr. Soref’s "ties to Israel" (Mr. Soref is an American citizen who was born in Israel) made him a "flight risk." In comparison, Ms. Seward – who was well known to the complainants - was released on her own recognizance shortly after her arrest. Despite his alleged "ties to Israel," Mr. Soref has strong ties to the Los Angeles community, including a family with three children and service on the Board of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Soref, who is claiming $40 million in damages for his false arrest and imprisonment, states that a portion of any potential award will go to his co-defendant’s victims. "While I have done nothing wrong, I feel a kinship for Michelle Steward’s victims," says Soref. "Therefore, I will allocate a certain portion of my award resulting from this lawsuit to these people, in the hope of alleviating some of their suffering."

Mr. Soref’s ultimate release came only after an abnormally long preliminary hearing in which the judge found: "The Court… [in a preliminary hearing] only determines whether there is probable cause… to determine if a crime was committed and that [Mr. Soref] is guilty of that crime. It is an extremely low standard… but there is a quantum of evidence required, however minimal it is. As I look to the totality of the evidence in this case and the reasonable inferences that can be made, I find the People have not met [this] burden..."

Mr. Soref’s non-pecuniary damages include the destruction of his family, negative publicity which has resulted in his inability to find meaningful employment, emotional stress associated with being falsely charged and incarcerated, as well as the continuing stigma associated with the unproven charges.

Mr. Soref is represented by The Law Offices of Etan Z. Lorant (818-990-3990; Esq8ton@Gmail.com) and the firm, D. Shawn Burkley, Attorney-at-Law (818-386-8408; Shawn@BurkleyHouse.com). Mr. Lorant is best known for his successful representation of several officers who were falsely arrested as part of the Rampart scandal and Deputy James Mee, who settled a civil suit related to Mel Gibson’s drunk driving incident in 2006.

For additional information, please refer to the attached document entitled Background Information to Complaint, available through Mr. Soref’s attorneys.