September 10, 2015
A Burlington County man has been charged with running a fraudulent law practice and swindling 74 clients between 2003 and 2015, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Leaford George Cameron, 64, pretended to be a lawyer for victims in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Jamaica and India. Though his clients thought they were paying for legitimate legal representation, Cameron was alternately using four Pennsylvania Attorney Identification Numbers that belonged to actual licensed Pennsylvania attorneys.
As part of the scheme, federal authorities said, Cameron would appear and speak in court on behalf of his victims, filing legal motions and forms that claimed, under the penalty of perjury, that he was a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Cameron's practice specialized in cases dealing with immigration matters pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which are components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice, respectively, the indictment claims. He was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and false statements, the United States Attorney's Office announced.
If convicted of all charges, Cameron faces a maximum of 75 years in prison, up to $1.5 million in fines, three years of supervised release, and a $600 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Petkun.
