'Students for Trump' founder charged with fraud, bilking would-be clients, and faking his identity
Following in the well-worn footsteps of their leader, an entirely new generation of grifters and fraudsters has arrived to bilk Americans out of their hard-earned savings. Fortunately, though, sometimes the law catches up to them.
A Tennessee man charged by New York prosecutors with pretending to be a Manhattan lawyer and taking thousands from would-be clients was the co-founder of Students for Trump, a national group that mobilized college campuses in the run-up to the 2016 election and plans to do so again in 2020.
John Lambert, 23, was arrested last week and charged by Southern District of New York prosecutors with wire fraud for having invented a lawyer persona named “Eric Pope” that he used to solicit legal work online. ALM reported last week that the fake firm website he created appeared to have attorney biographies cribbed from senior partners at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
According to the New York Law Journal, Lambert was living in North Carolina while perpetrating the scam but “spoofed” New York telephone numbers to make himself appear legitimate. In one circumstance a consumer took out 10,000 from his 401k to pay the fictitious law firm.
Lambert is currently out on bail. He is scheduled to appear for hearing in New York on April 29th.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/23/1852602/--Students-for-Trump-founder-charged-with-fraud-bilking-would-be-clients-and-faking-his-identity?detail=emaildkre
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