Alleged Bogus Lawyer Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud Indictment

A man accused of posing as an attorney to bilk two elderly women who had already lost money in a telemarketing scheme pleaded not guilty Thursday to an 11-count federal indictment.

Jonathan Andrew Hall, 30, of San Diego remained in custody at the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center after U.S. Magistrate Leo S. Papas ordered him held in lieu of a $30,000 cash bond.

A federal grand jury indicted Hall Wednesday on nine counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. If convicted of all charges, Hall could be sentenced to 70 years.

Prosecutors said Hall told one victim that he was an attorney and received money from another after telling her he was a paralegal working for an attorney.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Julia K. Craig said Hall worked at two San Diego telemarketing firms that authorities shut down earlier this year, alleging that precious metals were fraudulently offered for sale. The indictment states that Hall worked at the London Metal Exchange and Noble Metals International.

One Vallejo, Calif., victim lost $12,000 to London Metal Exchange, and then Hall used information that he received while working at the company to bilk her out of an additional $7,000, Craig said. Investigators said Hall told the victim that he was an attorney named Jack Bronner and had won $22,000 for her in a lawsuit--money that he would surrender as soon as she paid an additional retainer.

Another woman from Tulsa, Okla., sent Hall about $1,200 after he promised that his law firm was working to regain the money she had lost to Noble Metals, Craig said.