Tampa woman who posed as attorney pleads guilty to fraud
December 19, 2019 - A Tampa woman who posed and practiced law as a licensed attorney faces up to 22 years in prison, after pleading guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. Roberta Guedes graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 2014, but failed the Florida Bar exam twice, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Middle District of Florida. Although she was never licensed to practice law, she incorporated two fake law firms—Ferguson and McKenzie LLC, and Immigration and Litigation Law Office Inc. — and worked out of rented office space at the Rivergate Tower in downtown Tampa. At times, she impersonated a law school classmate, who had no involvement in the scheme, and also used other victim's personal identity information, prosecutors said.