Repeat offender who met with clients at bar association law library gets time for posing as attorney
A nonlawyer who brazenly offered his services as an immigration attorney and met with clients in the Brooklyn Bar Association’s law library, which he called his office, has been sentenced to a 2- to 4-year prison term.
Howard Seidler, 70, pleaded guilty last month to grand larceny and immigrant services fraud in the Brooklyn Supreme Court case, becoming the first person to be convicted of the felony under a new state law, reports the New York Times (reg. req.).
His lawyer declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Seidler’s “Esquire Howard” website remained live after his Wednesday sentencing, the Windsor Terrace-Kensington Patch reports.
“Esquire Howard a Representative working day in and day out on helping people receive their Green Card and fighting the Government. Find out how our he can help you get on the path to healing,” says the site under the heading “Learn about our services.”
In 2007, Seidler was arrested in Stamford, Connecticut, for posing as a real New York lawyer and charged with unauthorized practice of law and criminal impersonation. The Associated Press reported on the case at the time, saying that Seidler might face additional charges.
A client convicted after reportedly paying Seidler $18,000 for defense of a Stamford Superior Court drunken driving case got a mistrial when Seidler’s nonlawyer status came to light.
Seidler was convicted of grand larceny in 2008 in Stamford, and convicted of wire fraud in 2011 in such schemes, reports the New York Daily News.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Man accused of posing as lawyer is NY’s first immigration services fraud defendant”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Nonlawyer is still at his desk, 12 years after court ordered him to stop practicing, newspaper says”
