Man Accused of Posing as an Attorney
Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to 12 Years Prison

March 4, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joe Scott, Director of Communications
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Jane Robison, News Secretary
(213) 974-3525

LOS ANGELES – A convicted felon accused of preying on immigrant communities by posing as an attorney pleaded today to 19 felony counts.

Deputy District Attorney David Berger of Major Fraud Division said Ross Stanley Berton, 61, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of grand theft, two counts of offering false evidence, one count of forgery and one count of identity theft. Fifteen counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, the prosecutor said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Dohi sentenced Berton to 12 years state prison. Berton, who pleaded to at least one count for each of the 16 victims, also was ordered to pay restitution totaling $346,826. He has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 4.

The defendant, who unlawfully practiced law out of a lavishly furnished mid-Wilshire area office, victimized people from the Armenian, Iranian, Latino and Russian communities, the prosecutor said. Berton allegedly targeted people from immigrant communities who were reluctant to seek legal advice because of their mistrust of the legal system.

The defendant used an elaborate network of associates whom he paid to refer clients. Often times, these associates were members of the same immigrant communities as the victims. Berton allegedly extorted more than $120,000 from his victims, some of whom now face deportation.

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