Fake Hope Attorney Pleads Guilty

Calderon
Calderon

— A man who pretended to be a lawyer pleaded guilty to theft by deception and the unauthorized practice of law.

Anthony Calderon, 52,was sentenced to 20 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction with 18 years suspended and ordered to pay $53,000 in victim restitution.

A Springdale resident complained to police about the deception in November 2012. Several people claimed they paid Calderon to represent them as an attorney in various courts, according to Springdale police.

The residents were primarily undocumented immigrants who don’t speak English.

Calderon was arrested in Hope, where he had a home, according to police records.

The Washington County Circuit Court sentence is to run concurrently with a similar sentence in Howard County.

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