HOUSTON – Six victims have come forward to say they were duped by a man who pretended to be an attorney, a lawyer who hired him to help out at her legal practice says.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office charged Juan Martinez Jr. 42, with falsely holding oneself out as an attorney. Martinez worked as a paralegal for Maria Schnebly’s law practice, but Martinez does not have a law license.
Martinez also went by the name Noah Taylor, two people have told Channel 2 Investigates.
Two former clients of Martinez say he told them he was a lawyer and they paid him to appear in court on their behalf.
[Click here to learn how to verify someone is an attorney.]
A Sealy father says Martinez botched a court hearing to get joint custody of his then 1 1/2-year-old son.
"I believed he was going to help out because my brother said he's a good lawyer," said Luke McDonald who says he hired Martinez to represent them in a child custody case. Martinez used the name Noah Taylor, Luke McDonald says.
Taylor and his mom paid Martinez $2,000 .
"He told me he was a retired police officer, so I figured he really knew the law,” McDonald’s mom, Jeannie McDonald, told Channel 2 Investigates.
Records show Martinez worked for the Harris County Precinct Five Constable until 2006. Circumstances surrounding his departure have not been made available to Channel 2.
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records show he surrendered his license the following year after he was convicted of impersonating a police officer.
Luke McDonald says Martinez didn’t argue his case the day of his custody hearing. Instead, he says Martinez told him he had to agree with everything that his son’s mother was requesting in court.
“He said, ‘You got to sign. You have to agree with her.’ I'm like, 'You haven't fought for me or anything.' He was like, 'If you don't sign the paperwork, you're going to jail,'" McDonald said.
Luke McDonald signed an agreement limiting each visit with his son to two hours.
"I just couldn't believe what was happening," Jeannie McDonald said. She didn’t feel Martinez represented her son properly.
Jeannie McDonald spent time of the next few days reviewing the agreement. She noticed the paperwork showed attorney Maria Schnebly’s name.
Noah Taylor's name was nowhere to be found.
The family began to suspect something wasn’t right.
After a call to Schnebly’s law office, they learned the man they trusted to win the court case wasn't even a lawyer.
"I put trust in him when I was so vulnerable because I didn't know the law and I thought he did,” Jeannie McDonald said. “He just totally ripped it out."
Schnebly told investigative reporter Jace Larson she had no idea the paralegal working in her office was claiming to be a lawyer.
She said she did not authorize her signature on the document.
Schnebly says she believes there are other victims.
"I've been contacted personally by at least six," she said.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office charged Martinez with falsely holding oneself out as an attorney, a felony, in connection to one of the people Schnebly learned about.
Martinez has not been charged in McDonald’s case.
When Larson went by Martinez’s house, Martinez refused to talk.
OTHER CASES
He’s not the only person to be charged with falsely claiming to be an attorney.
Since 2010, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has charged at least nine other people.
[Scroll down to see mug shots of people convicted of falsely claiming to be an attorney.]
Attorney Chris Lowman investigates fake lawyers for the Texas Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee.
"Unauthorized practice of law is a problem statewide," he said.
The Texas city that generates the most complaints is Houston, he said.
"If you act quickly most of the time you should be able to undue the harm that's been done," Lowman said, but there are no guarantees.
Luke McDonald was able to hire another attorney and now has more time with his son.
He wants to make sure Martinez doesn’t harm anyone else.
"I want him gone, I want him off the street," he said.
If you have a tip about this story or another story idea for investigative reporter Jace Larson, email jlarson@kprc.com or text him at 832-493-3951.
See photos of people busted in Harris County for incorrectly claiming to be lawyers: