Fake Lawyer Operating Out Of Northbrook Held In Criminal Contempt

NORTHBROOK, IL — A jailed Des Plaines man operated as a fake lawyer out of an office in Northbrook and represented clients in immigration and divorce proceedings, records show. His unlicensed practice — Patel Law Group — lasted for nearly five years, according to a police report and a petition from the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

Hiran Patel, 34, formerly of the 9000 block of Potter Road, pleaded guilty last month to "engaging in the unauthorized practice of law," was held in indirect criminal contempt and sentenced to nine months in the McHenry County Jail, according to court records.

Meanwhile, Northbrook police are continuing to investigate Patel's activities, according to Deputy Chief Scott Dunham. So far, only one of his clients — a man who reported paying thousands of dollars to Patel for help with the immigration process — has reported him to local police.

According to a police report, a relative referred the man to the Patel Law Group to help with an application for a visa for two family members in Mexico. He and his mother met Patel at his office at 1363 Shermer Road in June 2018 and hired him with a $4,000 cash retainer. The man provided police with a copy of the invoice on Patel Law Group letterhead.

Over the next 11 months, the man paid an additional $4,575 to Patel for services that were never provided, according to the police report.

Patel is also suspected of crudely forging Department of Homeland Security documentation to make it seem as if he had made payments on behalf of his client's family, according to police.

For instance, an apparently fraudulent document riddled with spelling errors and printed on "Department of Home Land Secuirty" letterhead is titled "BIO-METRICS" and notes the family member "dose not have there Bio-Metrics up to date."

In the case that led to him being held in contempt for fake lawyering, a Lake in the Hills woman hired Patel in August 2018 to assist with an immigration matter involving her Ukrainian husband, according to a petition from Scott Kozlov, an attorney representing the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, or ARDC, which is charged by the Illinois Supreme Court with regulating lawyers in the state.

The next month, the woman notified Patel she wanted to divorce her husband, so the unlicensed attorney arranged to represent her in divorce court instead. The two soon became romantically involved, and Patel agreed to handle the woman's divorce for free.

Patel filed a petition on the woman's behalf in McHenry County Circuit Court and appeared before Associate Judge Mary Nader on Oct. 1, 2018, identifying himself as the woman's attorney, according to Kozlov's petition. Although the woman's husband had never been served with a summons, Patel asked the judge to decide in her favor. Nader told him he would need to prepare a motion and did not schedule a further hearing.

Instead, the judge contacted the ARDC and learned that Patel was not a real lawyer, according to Kozlov. She then submitted a report to the commission. Kozlov said the McHenry County Sheriff's Office soon opened an investigation, and on Oct. 24, 2018, a detective interviewed Patel, who claimed at first to be an attorney before admitting he was not.

According to a final judgement signed by Patel, Kozlov and McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge, Patel's latest sentence will not begin until he completes a prison term connected to a prior conviction in Cook County.

Patel is currently serving time for theft and false personation, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Court records show he was indicted in November 2016 on charges of false personation of an attorney, continuing financial crime enterprise, financial exploitation of an elderly person and two counts of theft. According to the indictment, Patel scammed a elderly woman out of nearly $6,000 while pretending to be a lawyer in 2015.

Northbrook police were told Patel also had offices at 650 N. Dearborn St. and 150 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago, according to their report. Patel's client said he planned to also file a report with Chicago police, who have yet to respond to a request for records in the case.

According to the Illinois Secretary of State's office, Patel Law Group, Ltd. was formed in June 2014 and involuntarily dissolved on Nov. 8, 2019.

On Nov. 15, Kozlov notified the man who reported the case to Northbrook police that the ARDC would not take any further action against him, noting Patel was already jailed for "similar instances of fraudulent conduct where he practiced law without authorization on behalf of others," according to a copy of the letter provided to police.

"By electing not to file a formal case against Mr. Patel in connection with your allegations, we do not intend to condone any of his conduct," Kozlov said. "Our decision to close this investigation is not a determination regarding the merits of your concerns."

Patel was found guilty of contempt at a hearing Nov. 26, the same day Northbrook police first got a call about him defrauding clients of his "firm." Patel's sentencing in McHenry County was first reported last month by the Northwest Herald.

As part of the judgement Patel and Kozlov agreed to, Patel was ordered to destroy any documents, business cards, lettterhead or other materials, "whether online or otherwise, in which he holds himself out as an attorney, lawyer, or counselor at law." According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Patel is due to be paroled in November 2020.

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