The family of a man killed after federal prosecutors asked him to cooperate in a criminal case is suing his lawyer, alleging malpractice and wrongful death.

The suit alleges the lawyer breached attorney-client privilege and statements he made to one of his other clients led to murder.

Isiah Cortez Callaway was shot multiple times in April 2011, when he was lured to the 1700 block of Crystal Avenue in east Baltimore. Court records show it was a murder-for-hire scheme and those involved wanted Callaway dead because they worried he might be a witness against them in a federal identity theft and mail fraud case.

Callaway’s family claims the actions of his attorney, Larry Feldman, led to the 19-year-old’s death.

“He was executed because of the misconduct of an attorney,” attorney Steve Silverman said.

The Callaway family’s multimillion-dollar wrongful death and legal malpractice lawsuit, represented by Silverman, claims Feldman committed legal malpractice and engaged in other misconduct by failing to represent the best interests of his client, thereby causing that client, who was a witness against another client of Feldman’s, to be murdered.

“Mr. Callaway came to Mr. Feldman to try to get a lighter sentence in a minor case; what he ended up getting was a death sentence,” Silverman said.

Callaway was a bit player in the scheme in which the homeless drug dealers and others were recruited to open fraudulent bank accounts in which stolen checks and money orders were deposited and the money withdrawn, usually by using ATMs. Federal prosecutors had contacted Feldman to try and get Callaway’s cooperation.

The lawsuit alleges Feldman never mentioned that to Callaway. Instead, Feldman contacted the leader of the mail fraud scheme, Tavon Davis, and talked about ways the co-conspirators could avoid long prison sentences.

The suit claims Feldman suggested to his other client, Davis, who was running the mail fraud scheme, two ways to prevent such an outcome: Send Callaway to Costa Rica or use the Sicilian option. Five days later, Callaway was shot and killed as he sat in his car on Crystal Avenue. Court records show a hit man was paid $ 2,000 for the murder.