NBI catches fake lawyer

Manila, Philippines - A man who represents himself as a lawyer was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation agents in an entrapment last June 28, the NBI said yesterday.

The NBI said the arrest of Richard Alpapara, 58, stems from a complaint filed by Ma. Cristina Bernardo last month. The suspect, detained at the NBI jail, faces charges of falsification, usurpation of authority, and estafa.

Bernardo said she met Alpapara, who identified himself as “Attorney Richard Sarte,” at the Quezon City Hall of Justice when she looked for a lawyer to help her with a property she bought in Novaliches.

She said the suspect demanded P30,000 as his acceptance fee and P3,000 appearance fee for every hearing. When she found out that he was not a lawyer, Bernardo said she demanded that he pay back the fees she gave him and that he return her documents.

Despite repeated demands, Bernardo said he refused.

The Supreme Court’s Office of the Bar Confidant certified that there is no lawyer by the name of Richard Sarte. The NBI said a Makati court issued a warrant for Alpapara’s arrest for car theft in 1985 while as Sarte, he is the subject of an arrest warrant by a Quezon City court for estafa in 2008.

The NBI said Alpapara, representing himself as Sarte, has victimized other people in Quezon City and Bulacan.