Defense Lawyer Criminally Charged, Accused of Submitting Fake Certificates of Completion for Clients
A Nevada defense attorney has been criminally charged as an alleged ringleader in a claimed scheme that provided certificates of completion to individuals in misdemeanor cases concerning court-ordered community service and counseling.
Brian Bloomfield, 36, was charged in a 52-count grand jury indictment along with a juvenile probation officer and a former operator of a counseling service, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. He surrendered yesterday and was apparently released after posting $50,000 bail.
“This case will rock the criminal justice system in Clark County,” said District Attorney David Roger, who hopes to see counseling services provided in-house instead of contracted to outside agencies. “While judges thought that they were helping rehabilitate offenders, it is apparent that a counseling agency was committing a fraud upon the courts.”
The newspaper said the alleged scheme led to the abrupt resignation last month of a local prosecutor. He was not charged in the case.
Bloomfield’s lawyer declined to comment when contacted by the Review-Journal.
