Westerville man sent to prison for impersonating a lawyer, defrauding family

ZANESVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – A Westerville man will serve time in prison after defrauding a Zanesville family while pretending to be a lawyer.

According to the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office, John Allen, 73, was sentenced to one year in prison for his crimes of felony theft and telecommunications fraud, as well as the unauthorized practice of law, a misdemeanor.

The prosecution’s office said that beginning in August 2023, Allen contacted the victim about drafting a trust. The victim was later admitted to the hospital and Allen had him sign documents.

After the victim died, Allen asked the victim’s daughter to pay for legal services that involved the creation of the trust. During a probate court hearing, Allen told the daughter to lie to the judge in saying that he was a friend of the family assisting her in the legal matter but the hearing was rescheduled because Allen had not prepared the trust correctly.

In other instances, Allen represented the victim at the U.S. Post office and a bank, acting unprofessionally by yelling at workers at each location, demanding that they give the daughter money. The prosecutor’s office said he then requested more fees from the daughter, to which she complied.

In January 2024, the daughter reported Allen to the police that she was a victim of fraud. Allen denied all allegations pertaining to being an attorney or filling out the trust document and he refused to answer questions about being paid for his services.

Allen pleaded no contest in June and was sentenced on Monday. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,800.