Fake Attorney Gets Jail In Morrisville
by Alex Lloyd Gross
People that hire an attorney expect that person to be competent and highly trained. While anyone can give legal advice, not all of the advice is sound. That is why it is imperative that someone who purports themselves to be an attorney actually passed the bar. Not so for Michael Jerome McAndrew, of Morrisville. He plead guilty in March of this year to theft by deception, deceptive business practices, identity theft, insurance fraud, and unauthorized practice of law.
He will spend the next nine to 23 months in jail for his crime. Authorities said that McAndrew would go through great lengths to portray himself as an attorney, advertising his business through social media, a business website with positive customer testimonials, online reviews that referred to him as “Mike the Lawyer,” and by sending letters to people possibly in need of legal services.
The investigation by Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson revealed that McAndrew owned and operated Superior Legal Services at 1609 Woodbourne Road in Levittown, Middletown Township. A licensed attorney told Detectives he worked with McAndrew from June 2021 until a year later after learning that McAndrew was not licensed. During that time, he said he co-counseled three civil cases with McAndrew and was referred 12 criminal cases that he handled on his own. Detective Johnson spoke to the victims, uncovering that they paid legal fees to McAndrew. The investigation also revealed that McAndrew often identified himself as a licensed attorney with the same name who works for Comcast Cable and held professional liability insurance under his frequently used alias of Michael MacAndrews.
Occasionally, a lawyer gets suspended or disbarred. On rare occasion, an attorney will still attempt to practice law. People can do to the Pa Disciplinary Board to check the status of a lawyer at any time.