A Bucks County man who pretended to be an attorney for years has been sentenced to prison time and ordered to repay his unsuspecting clients the $26,000 he made off of them, authorities announced.
On Friday, May 3, Michael J. McAndrew, 58, of Morrisville, was sentenced to nine to 23 months in the Bucks County Correctional Facility for practicing law without a law license and taking thousands of dollars in legal fees from unsuspecting clients, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
As part of the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller, McAndrew must also serve five years of probation, reside in a recovery house, undergo drug and alcohol treatment, and repay $26,000 in restitution to three sets of victims, the DA's office said. McAndrew's sentence begins on Friday after he waived his credit for time served.
At last week's hearing, Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber said McAndrew would go through great lengths to portray himself as an attorney, advertising his business through social media, a business website with positive customer testimonials, online reviews that referred to him as “Mike the Lawyer,” and by sending letters to people possibly in need of legal services.
Numerous victims were identified and feel both betrayed and a "profound sense of embarrassment that they were so misled," Furber said.
The investigation by Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson revealed that McAndrew owned and operated Superior Legal Services at 1609 Woodbourne Road in Levittown, Middletown Township. A licensed attorney told detectives he worked with McAndrew from June 2021 until a year later after learning that McAndrew was not licensed.
During that time, he said he co-counseled three civil cases with McAndrew and was referred 12 criminal cases that he handled on his own. Detective Johnson spoke to the victims and found that they paid legal fees to McAndrew. The investigation also revealed that McAndrew often identified himself as a licensed attorney with the same name who works for Comcast Cable and held professional liability insurance under his frequently used alias of Michael MacAndrews.
If you or someone you know may have been victimized by McAndrew — or if you have information that could lead to his arrest — you're asked to contact Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson at 215-348-6868 or to submit a tip on the Bucks County Crime Watch webpage.
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