Dear Atty. Angela,

I engaged the services of a lawyer to handle several civil cases for our family business. At first, everything was going smoothly until said lawyer was already giving suspicious advices and kept on asking for unnecessary payments. When I checked his name in the roll of attorneys, the year that he passed was in the 1970s which is impossible as the lawyer we are talking to is still fairly young. Upon investigation, we found out that this lawyer is a fraud and there are other victims who filed complaints in NBI against him. I want to know what are the legal offenses committed by this fraud lawyer and what case could we file against him?

Marla

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Dear Marla,

This fake lawyer who defrauded you could be made liable for violating Commonwealth Act No. 142 or the Anti-Alias Law, which prohibits the unauthorized use of an alias and violation of Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), which prohibits using a fictitious or fake name.

In the case of Pequero y Nollora, alias Atty. Epafrodito Nollora v. People, G.R. No. 263676 (7 August 2024), the Court upheld Pequero’s convictions for the use of an illegal alias and the use of a fictitious name.

Section 1 of the Anti-Alias Law prohibits using a name other than your birth name, except for specific purposes like stage names, screen names, pen names, and the like for literary, cinema, television, radio, or entertainment purposes and in athletic events.

Here, Pequero’s registered name at birth is Pedro Nollora Pequero, but he presented himself to clients as “Atty. Epafrodito Nollora.” He used this name to sign legal documents and appear in court. The use of this alias was not for entertainment or literary purposes, nor did he have any authority to use it.

On the other hand, Article 178 of the RPC punishes persons who publicly use a fictitious name for the purpose of concealing a crime, evading the execution of a judgment or causing damage.

This case falls squarely to your situation and as such, you may file the same criminal charges against the fraud lawyer.

Atty. Angela Antonio