Gainesville man charged with impersonating lawyer

A Gainesville man who pleaded guilty two months ago to unauthorized practice of law has been arrested on probation violation after he allegedly impersonated an attorney again.

Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh said 39-year-old Finees Casado is accused of filing an entry of appearance as an immigration lawyer in federal immigration court in recent weeks. Casado was arrested this week on a warrant charging him with violating his probation stemming from an earlier guilty plea on similar charges.

Casado, who has never passed a bar exam and has no more than two years of legal schooling, set up an office and took thousands of dollars from clients.

He had already been arrested after posing as a lawyer in an October 2007 plea hearing but afterward still showed up at the district attorney’s office to negotiate on behalf of his “clients.”

At a sentencing in April, Superior Court Judge Jason Deal followed the terms of a negotiated sentence, ordering Casado to serve four years probation, pay restitution and banishing him from all Georgia counties except Clayton County, where Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is located. Deal was told Casado planned to move to Massachusetts.

Deal warned Casado against practicing law without a license.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration Court couldn’t say exactly when Casado posed as a lawyer in that court or how he was discovered, but she said court officials were aware of him.

Federal immigration bar counsel notified Casado in October he wasn’t authorized to practice before immigration courts or the board of immigration, said court spokeswoman Elaine Komis.

Darragh said Casado will have a probation revocation hearing, possibly later this month.

Casado’s last known attorney, Rob Chambers, did not answer phone calls Saturday.