NYC Gazette

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that a grand jury has returned an indictment charging Christopher Reese, also known as “Christopher Eugene Thomas,” with federal crimes related to defrauding federal criminal defendants and their family members. Reese is accused of tricking these individuals into paying him for unlicensed legal services in federal courts. Reese is already in federal custody concerning a separate case. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated: “As alleged in a criminal indictment, Christopher Reese sought to profit off the hopes and anxieties of criminal defendants and their families while abusing federal courts for his own financial gain. Reese allegedly tricked people into paying him for legal services he wasn’t authorized to provide, and after promising he could get inmates out of prison time and time again, the only thing Reese achieved was taking money for himself. It’s time for Reese’s alleged fraud on defendants, their families, and the courts to end.”

According to the indictment:

For years, Reese has run a scam targeting federal inmates and their family members. To carry out his fraud scheme, Reese promised favorable results in criminal cases that he could not actually obtain, rendering legal services he was not authorized to provide in exchange for hefty fees. He styled himself as a “legal assistant” or “paralegal” but worked without the supervision of a licensed lawyer and offered services that only a lawyer is authorized to provide, including drafting and submitting legal filings in federal courts.

Reese would induce victims—criminal defendants and their family members—to pay him thousands of dollars per legal filing by promising immediate release based on motions he could file in exchange for substantial fees. Sometimes he would offer a “money-back guarantee” on his services; however, when his motions inevitably failed, he would refuse to refund his fees.

When successful in deceiving inmates and their families into paying him to draft and file legal motions and briefs in federal cases—including those heard by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at 40 Foley Square in Manhattan—Reese engaged in unauthorized practice of law by making a business out of drafting and filing such documents.

In connection with this scheme's proceeds, Reese committed additional crimes while on supervised release from another federal case during most of this period. To avoid paying owed criminal restitution, he made false statements regarding his finances to the U.S. Probation Office. Furthermore, he laundered proceeds through a co-conspirator who acted as an intermediary bank for him.

Reese, 56, from East Meadow, New York, faces multiple charges: one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (maximum sentence: 20 years), wire fraud (maximum sentence: 20 years), unauthorized practice of law in a federal enclave (maximum sentence: four years), making false statements to the U.S. Probation Office (maximum sentence: five years), and conspiracy to commit money laundering (maximum sentence: 20 years). These maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress but any sentencing will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work conducted by Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josiah Pertz and Derek Wikstrom leading the prosecution.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations; Christopher Reese is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.