A 58-year-old man was given a sentence on Friday, May 3, 2024, to spend 9 to 23 months in the Bucks County Correctional Facility for working as a lawyer without a law license and accepting thousands of dollars in legal fees from unsuspecting clients.
Michael Jerome McAndrew, from Morrisville, admitted his guilt in March to theft by deception, deceitful business practices, identity theft, insurance fraud, and unauthorized practice of law. McAndrew, also known as Michael MacAndrews, has been in custody since August 2023.
As part of the ruling given by Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller, his punishment is set to start on Friday after McAndrew chose not to use his credit for time served.
Additionally, Liller instructed him to complete five years of probation, live in a recovery house, receive drug and alcohol treatment, and repay $26,000 in restitution to three sets of victims.
During Friday’s hearing, Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber mentioned that McAndrew would go to great lengths to present himself as a lawyer, promoting his business through social media, a business website with positive customer testimonials, online reviews referring to him as “Mike the Lawyer,” and by sending letters to people who might need legal assistance.
During the investigation, numerous victims were identified. “Not only do they feel betrayed,” Furber said, “they feel a deep sense of embarrassment that they were so misled.”
The inquiry by Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson revealed that McAndrew owned and ran Superior Legal Services at 1609 Woodbourne Road in Levittown, Middletown Township. A licensed attorney told Detectives he worked with McAndrew from June 2021 until a year later after learning that McAndrew was not licensed. During that time, he co-counseled three civil cases with McAndrew and was referred 12 criminal cases that he handled on his own.
Detective Johnson spoke to the victims, finding out that they paid legal fees to McAndrew. The inquiry also revealed that McAndrew often presented himself as a licensed attorney with the same name who works for Comcast Cable and held professional liability insurance under his frequently used alias of Michael MacAndrews.
Charges against him were filed in November 2022.
The case was investigated by Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber, Chief of Insurance Fraud and Economic Crimes.
