S. Jersey fake lawyer gets 12 years for nationwide legal scam

Leaford George Cameron was running a phony law firm from his home while on probation for a 2014 conviction for impersonating an attorney.

Leaford George Cameron, 65, of Burlington, was convicted by a federal jury in February.Read moreFile Photo

by Robert Moran

Published Jul. 11, 2018, 8:15 p.m. ET

A 65-year-old Burlington County man was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to 12 years in prison for posing as a lawyer in a nationwide legal scam.

Leaford George Cameron, of Burlington, was found guilty by a jury in February of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and three counts of making false statements.

Cameron was running a phony law firm from his home while on probation for a 2014 conviction for impersonating an attorney. He claimed to be an attorney in state and federal cases, including in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Florida, as well as in Jamaica and India.

Cameron defrauded more than 100 victims and collected at least $200,000 in bogus legal fees, authorities said.

His victims suffered from his lack of real legal knowledge, authorities said. One woman lost her home in a foreclosure case. In some immigration cases, his victims were ordered removed from the United States.

U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said in a statement that Cameron "was not only a phony lawyer, but also an incompetent phony lawyer."