Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Page 3
O.C. Man Sentenced for Impersonating Lawyer—Again
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A Newport Beach man previously convicted for holding himself out as an attorney to courts, lawyers and paying clients has been sentenced to two years in prison for again holding himself out to be a lawyer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said yesterday that Harold Goldstein, 64, was ordered back to prison by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter for violating the terms of his supervised release.
He was previously convicted of making false declarations to courts by swearing under oath or penalty of perjury that he was an attorney licensed to practice in the State of California.
Goldstein was also previously convicted of mail fraud for sending solicitation letters to inmates advertising his legal services. As part of his scheme, Goldstein stole the identity of a real attorney in Northern California.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison after extensive litigation.
Goldstein was released from prison on May 1, but rearrested a month later for allegedly violating the terms of his supervised release by holding himself out as an attorney and working in the legal field without the approval of his probation officer.
On June 1, he allegedly posted an ad on Craigslist.com soliciting attorneys and represented to attorneys who responded to the ad that he was a retired or semi-retired attorney looking to contract with another attorney to do in-court legal work. Goldstein then requested the attorneys’ letterhead and business cards.
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