Morrisville man accused of pretending to be a lawyer, stealing thousands from clients

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
·2 min read

For more than seven years, Michael Jerome McAndrew owned and operated a successful law practice in Middletown.

The only problem is he isn’t a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania or anywhere else, according to Bucks County authorities.

It’s a detail that at least two of his clients didn’t know when they paid McAndrew, 57, of Morrisville, $26,000 collectively in retainer fees over the last year. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office suspects he had other clients they don't know about yet.

Bucks County authorities are looking for Jerome McAndrew, of Morrisville, who is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from people who thought he was an attorney.
Bucks County authorities are looking for Jerome McAndrew, of Morrisville, who is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from people who thought he was an attorney.

McAndrew was charged on Nov. 23 with theft by deception and deceptive business practices, unauthorized practice of law, identity theft, insurance fraud and other related charges, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

The charges against McAndrew are allegations; he has not been convicted of any crimes connected to this case.

The whereabouts of McAndrew, who also uses the name Michael MacAndrews, is unknown. The website associated with McAndrew’s law practice, Superior Legal Services in the 1600 block of Woodbourne Road, is no longer working.

The business advertised for clients through a website, on social media and sent letters to people possibly needing legal services.

An unidentified licensed attorney told Bucks County detectives that he worked with McAndrew from June 2021 until earlier this year when he learned McAndrew was not licensed to practice law.

During that time, the attorney said that he co-counseled three civil cases with McAndrew and he referred him12 criminal cases that McAndrew handled on his own.

Detectives identified the parties in two of the civil lawsuits McAndrew handled. One said he signed a retainer for $30,000 on Sept. 20. 2021, to be paid in six monthly installments of $5,000.  The client said that he paid McAndrew between $15,000 to $20,000 of the total.

The clients in the second civil suit told investigators that they signed a retainer with McAndrew in February and paid him $6,000 to represent them.

Investigators also found that McAndrew often identified himself as a licensed attorney with the same name who works for Comcast and he held professional liability insurance under his frequently used alias of Michael MacAndrews.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is asking anyone who has been victimized by McAndrew to contact Bucks County Detective Timothy Johnson at 215-348-6868 or through the tipline at BucksDA.org. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Michael Jerome McAndrew is asked to contact Bucks County Detective Johnson.

How Sellersville man's lies fell apartAfter eight weeks of lies, why did Stephen Capaldi finally admit killing his wife?

Why DUI central court plan is on hold Pennsylvania Supreme Court order upends Bucks County central DUI court plan

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County authorities say phony attorney stole $26K from clients.