Christopher Reese Charged With Defrauding Criminal Defendants Through His Unauthorized Practice Of Law

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that a grand jury has returned an Indictment charging CHRISTOPHER REESE, a/k/a “Christopher Eugene Thomas,” with federal crimes related to his tricking federal criminal defendants and their family members into paying REESE, who is not a lawyer, to perform unlicensed legal services for them in federal courts.  REESE is already in federal custody in connection with a separate case.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged in a criminal indictment, Christopher Reese sought to profit off the hopes and anxieties of criminal defendants and their families while abusing federal courts for his own financial gain.  Reese allegedly tricked people into paying him for legal services he wasn’t authorized to provide, and after promising he could get inmates out of prison time and time again, the only thing Reese achieved was taking money for himself.  It’s time for Reese’s alleged fraud on defendants, their families, and the courts to end.”

According to the Indictment:[1]

For years, REESE has run a scam targeting federal inmates and their family members.  To carry out his fraud scheme, REESE promised favorable results in criminal cases that he could not actually obtain, rendering legal services he was not authorized to provide in exchange for hefty fees.  REESE styles himself as a “legal assistant” or “paralegal” but works without the supervision of a licensed lawyer and offers services that only a lawyer is authorized to provide, including drafting and submitting legal filings in federal courts.  REESE brings in business by promising beneficial outcomes to prisoners and their family members that he cannot deliver while knowing — but failing to disclose — the unauthorized nature of his unlicensed legal practice.

REESE would induce victims — criminal defendants and their family members — to pay him thousands of dollars per legal filing.  He would do this, for example, by promising that defendants would be “immediately released” based on motions REESE could file in exchange for fees in the thousands of dollars.  Sometimes REESE would also offer a “money back guarantee” on his services, but when his motions inevitably failed, REESE would refuse to refund his fees.  When his fraud succeeded, and inmates and their family members paid REESE to draft and file legal motions and briefs in federal cases, REESE engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by making a business of drafting and filing legal motions and briefs in federal cases, including cases heard by 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 federal enclave where New York State’s prohibition on the unauthorized practice of law applies via the Assimilative Crimes Act.

REESE has earned many thousands of dollars from this scheme, and in connection with the proceeds he earned from his legal-services scheme, REESE committed additional crimes.  First, REESE was on supervised release in connection with a separate federal criminal case in this District during most of the scheme.  In connection with his supervision, and in order to avoid paying criminal restitution that he owed, REESE made false statements to the U.S. Probation Office regarding his finances.  Second, REESE laundered the proceeds of his scheme by using a co-conspirator who assisted him with the scheme to effectively act as a bank for him and engaging in financial transactions designed to conceal the source and movement of the fees REESE collected from his victims.

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REESE, 56, of East Meadow, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of unauthorized practice of law in a federal enclave, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison; one count of making false statements to the U.S. Probation Office, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josiah Pertz and Derek Wikstrom are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.