Man jailed for impersonating as lawyer to cheat 2 women of more than $23,000 in 'legal fees'
He offered to be her lawyer and pretended to have represented her multiple times in court.
Through his deception, Antonio Aromin Wong, a 67-year-old Singaporean, cheated nearly $20,000 in “legal fees” from Phang Sok Kian Audrey, 48, who trusted him with affairs of her late husband’s estate.
Wong was arrested and released on bail after Phang made a police report. But Wong persisted with the same scam to cheat another woman of her money after the latter saw that he was dressed like a lawyer.
On Tuesday (26 March), Wong was jailed 15 months after he pleaded guilty to six counts of cheating. Ten counts of a similar nature were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Wong met Phang in April 2016 through a mutual friend. He later learned from the woman about her legal issues related to the estate of her late husband.
Offering to represent Phang, Wong lied that he was a practising lawyer in Singapore even though he had no such qualifications.
On 21 May that year, Wong and Phang signed a Warrant to Act, which stated that Phang had instructed Wong to act as her legal counsel in the matters of her late husband.
To maintain his deceit, Wong texted Phang that he had represented her in court proceedings between May and August 2016 when he had not.
Believing Wong and following his instructions, Phang transferred a total of $19,898 of purported “legal fees” to his bank account during the period. Wong used the money to spend on a holiday and settle his debts.
Phang made a police report on 28 September 2016 stating that Wong had cheated her money.
Wong was arrested on 29 September 2016 and released on bail but he failed to show up for court proceedings. While on bail, he targeted a second victim.
In early July last year, Wong was at the People’s Park Centre when 56-year-old Song Li Siah approached him, seeing that he was dressed like a lawyer. When asked if he was a lawyer, Wong replied yes.
Song then asked Wong for legal advice about a court matter relating to a salary dispute between her and her former employer. Wong offered to assist Song in his “free time” as it would cost her more if his “law firm” were to deal with the matter.
Song transferred a total of $3,500 to Wong on three occasions in July that year for purported writing of legal documents.
Song lodged a police report on 5 August last year stating that Wong had cheated her.
In total, Wong cheated a total of $23,398 from Song and Phang.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Woon Wee urged the court to jail Wong for at least 15 months, stating that Wong had three past offences for cheating in 1993, 1998 and 2000.
The prosecution called Wong a “recalcitrant serial cheat” who had a “plethora of cheating antecedents”. Wong’s current offences were also not “one-off” as he had cheated Phang over four months and Song over a few days, said the prosecutor.
In mitigation, Wong, who was not represented, asked for leniency. He could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined on each count of cheating.
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