Woman Indicted for Falsely Claiming She’s an Attorney in P’ville Court
A woman was indicted Wednesday for passing herself off as an attorney and attempting to represent a client earlier this year in Pleasantville Village Court.
Peekskill resident Delilah Torres, 42, was arraigned before Judge Barry Warhit on two counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, and one count of participating or appearing as an attorney-at-law without being admitted or and registered.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of 16 months to four years in prison.
According to the Westchester County district attorney’s office, Torres first appeared in Pleasantville Village Court on June 26, identifying herself as the attorney for a client in a civil matter. After receiving instructions from the court clerk on how to proceed, Torres faxed a series of documents to the court, resulting in the matter being scheduled for a hearing the following day.
When she appeared in court on June 27, again claiming to be the attorney for her client, Torres provided a notice of appearance and a notice of motion to the court, the district attorney’s office said. In both documents, she claimed to be an attorney.
The matter was adjourned to June 29, when Torres appeared in Village Court again. When questioned by the court on her credentials, Torres claimed she graduated from Columbia Law School on May 18, but had not yet taken her bar exam. She was ordered to return to court on July 3 with proof that she was admitted to practice and attended Columbia Law School, but never appeared.
Records from the Office of Court Administration, the New York State Board of Law Examiners and Columbia University confirmed that Torres never attended or graduated from Columbia Law School, never took the New York State Bar Exam and has never been admitted to practice in the state, the district attorney’s office said.
Torres pleaded not guilty. Her bail was set at $15,000 cash or $15,000 bond. She is set to return to court on Nov. 16.
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