Man arrested in courtroom for posing as lawyer already dead

A man was arrested inside a courtroom in Nueva Ecija for passing himself off as a lawyer using the name of an attorney who was already dead.

According to a "24 Oras" report by John Consulta, who pretended to be a defense lawyer, introduced himself as “Atty. Elias Estrella,” who was found to be dead for years.

“Hindi siya abugado. Yung inassume niya ay patay na as evidenced by a death certificate na submitted to us," National Bureau of Investigation(NBI)-Cabanatuan head agent Dom Villanueva said.

"Personal palang kilala ni Judge yung patay na abugado at ni Atty. Dick Fernandez ng IBP,” Villanueva added.

NBI agents who arrested the suspect recovered a driver's license and other identification cards bearing the name of the dead lawyer.

The suspect has yet to issue a statement.

He is currently being held at the NBI detention facility and will face falsification of public documents and identity theft charges.

"Mahihinto na ang panloloko niya, posing as a fake lawyer. Iimbestigahan din natin ang mga previous cases na nirepresent niya in court," Villanueva said.—Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News