Christopher Reese, also known as Christopher Eugene Thomas, was sentenced to 16.5 years in prison for operating an unlicensed legal services scheme that defrauded inmates and their families. The announcement was made by Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Reese, who has nine prior felony convictions and is not a licensed attorney, posed as a “legal assistant” or “paralegal” and charged substantial fees to provide legal services he was not authorized to perform. He drafted and filed motions in federal courts, promising inmates favorable outcomes such as immediate release from prison. Courts overwhelmingly denied these motions while Reese retained the payments.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated: “Christopher Reese conned vulnerable people by promising them outcomes in legal cases that he could not deliver and tried to manipulate the federal courts to further his scheme. Today’s substantial sentence is a clear reminder: the fraudulent and unauthorized practice of law is a crime. The public should be on guard against so-called ‘independent paralegals’ or ‘legal assistants’ selling services that only licensed lawyers can provide, without supervision by a licensed lawyer. Unlicensed practitioners may seem like a bargain, but often leave their clients in far worse circumstances.”
Evidence presented at trial showed that Reese targeted federal inmates along with their families and friends over several years. He offered services reserved for attorneys without proper authorization or oversight, including drafting and submitting court filings in both the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at 40 Foley Square in Manhattan—a location where state prohibitions on unauthorized law practice are enforced through federal law.
To disguise his involvement from the courts, Reese listed inmates’ names on filings as if they were prepared pro se (by themselves), rather than revealing his own role.
Reese collected over $1 million through this operation. During much of this time, he was under supervised release related to another federal conviction within the district. To avoid paying criminal restitution from his previous case, he provided false information to probation officers and laundered funds using an associate.
In addition to imprisonment, Reese received three years of supervised release after completing his sentence and must forfeit $1 million obtained through fraud.
Jay Clayton commended Special Agents from his office for their investigative efforts leading up to prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josiah Pertz, Kingdar Prussien, and James McMahon from the White Plains Division.
