Man Held on Suspicion of Posing as a Lawyer
A man has been arrested on suspicion of running a law office in Santa Ana without a license and for allegedly swindling people out of thousands of dollars, police said.
Investigators arrested Jorge Ramon Jimenez on July 25 on suspicion of grand theft and for posing as a lawyer. He will face arraignment Aug. 26, Sgt. Steve Despenas said.
The 35-year-old Jimenez kept an office on the 300 block of West 4th Street since November 1997 and advertised as New Horizon Law and Enterprises and Center for Law and Justice.
Jimenez even maintained a secretary, who was not charged with any crime, to tell clients that he was on vacation, Despenas said. He would ask for upfront fees for his legal services, police said.
A background check revealed that Jimenez lacked a law degree and had no legal experience, Despenas said.
“He advertised in Spanish-speaking newspapers and even had a sign in his office, which read, ‘abogado’ [lawyer],” Despenas said. “Right now we have no idea how big his clientele was. . . . We have only begun scratching the surface.”
Despenas said Jimenez accepted cases ranging from criminal to custody disputes and other civil matters.
Anyone who hired Jimenez, who also has gone by the names of Pedro Devillada and Ramon Hernandez Jimenez, is asked to call police at (714) 647-5066.
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