Sophisticated fraud scheme impersonates Florida attorney, creates fake court hearing

Attorneys reminded to monitor unauthorized use of their professional identities

An elaborate fraud scheme involving a fake Zoom hearing with individuals impersonating a judge and a police officer, AI-generated fake court documents, and multiple instances of identity theft spanning different states has Miami attorney Angel Ariel Bermudez wondering if the next generation of AI-enhanced fraud will find him defending himself in court as a result of fraudulent filings.

In May, Bermudez received a call from a man who said he was at the attorney’s Tampa office waiting on him for their appointment, but Bermudez doesn’t have a Tampa office.

The victim then sent Bermudez a text with an AI-generated image of a business card that featured a small photo of a lawyer, asking if it was his card. Bermudez assured the man the card was not his and sent him his member profile picture from The Florida Bar website.  Bermudez, who is licensed to practice in multiple jurisdictions, quickly noticed the fake business card included his legitimate California bar number and warned the victim that he was being scammed.

The victim also sent Bermudez several other falsified documents, among them a fake selfie the fraudsters had provided, saying they were on a plane traveling to New York for the victim’s court case, and a fake hearing notice for an online workers’ compensation case in New York. The victim told Bermudez he had attended the online “hearing,” with a judge and police officer. Bermudez was shocked by the sophistication of the scam attempt.

The swindle also involved multiple cases of identity theft. A quick search of the judge’s name listed on the fake hearing notice revealed an actual judge –– but from Minnesota, not New York.

Later in May, Bermudez was contacted by a second person who had been targeted by the fraudsters and provided similar documentation, this time a North Carolina hearing notice.

On that same day, the attorney received an email from counsel at the State Bar of Arizona advising that it had received a complaint from an individual who said he was unable to reach the attorney and had been waiting several weeks for a check Bermudez owed him from a workers’ compensation case.

Bermudez explained to the Arizona bar counsel that he had recently become aware that someone was impersonating him and sent the documentation the Florida victims had shared with him, noting he is not licensed in Arizona and doesn’t handle workers’ compensation cases. The Arizona bar reached out to the complainant for additional documentation, but the individual didn’t respond and the Arizona bar closed the complaint.

Following that incident, Bermudez reported the identity theft to the bars in all the jurisdictions where he is licensed and notified law enforcement.

The Florida Bar has placed an alert on Bermudez’s member profile webpage to warn the public that he has been the victim of identity theft and prompt anyone who may suspect that they are being scammed to contact him directly.

Bermudez says the victims he spoke to avoided financial loss because they contacted him by looking up his telephone number online after failing to reach him by the contact numbers the scammers provided, and he is glad that he was able to take their calls.

He says he feels frustrated for the people the scammers are targeting – people who are particularly vulnerable because they are injured and unable to work – and taking their money while giving them a false sense of relief from a successful workers’ compensation claim.

“The way that the scheme worked was ‘we went to the hearing, we were successful, we won. I have the money, but I need you to pay me my part so that I can send you your part, rather than me taking it from the settlement or the judgments.’”

And he is also a bit apprehensive about what to expect next.

“Imagine if they actually start filing fraudulent lawsuits,” says Bermudez. “The next step in the evolution of that scheme is to make it legitimate.”

By the time a case reaches court, the fraudsters would be long gone, he says.

Case filing processes and fees currently discourage such a scenario.

The ABA recently warned attorneys about a similar immigration scheme in which fraudsters have used real attorneys' names and bar numbers obtained from publicly available websites, along with fake retainer agreements, fabricated credentials, and fraudulent documents. (See the Bar News article, Fraudsters are impersonating attorneys in immigration scheme.)

The ABA is encouraging lawyers to monitor unauthorized use of their professional identities and reminding the public to verify attorney credentials through official attorney search tools before retaining legal services.

Florida Bar members may report identity theft to the Attorney/Consumer Assistance Program (ACAP) by calling 866-352-0707. The Florida Bar can place a temporary alert on a member’s Florida Bar profile to warn the public about an incident involving identity theft and prompt anyone who may suspect that they are being scammed to contact the member directly.

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