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Anita Alvarez
Cook County State's Attorney
Communications Department
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-3423
saomedia@cookcountygov.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 11, 2010

A lawsuit was filed today by State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez against a suspended Illinois attorney who continued to represent himself as an attorney and CPA, and collected fees for legal services that he could not legally perform because his license was suspended in 2007, according to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Warren Dominick, 60, of Tinley Park, was named in the lawsuit with contempt of court, fraud for making material misrepresentations to clients, and collecting attorneys’ fees to perform legal services he could not and did not render. In September 2007, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended Dominick’s law license for two years due to attorney misconduct.

According to the lawsuit, the State’s Attorney’s office was alerted after the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) received complaints regarding Dominick. It was discovered that after his suspension, Dominick allegedly misled two women to hire him as their attorney by misrepresenting himself to be a licensed attorney and CPA, who specialized in pursuing pension benefit claims in divorce cases. He failed to perform any legal services and the clients complained to the ARDC. Dominick is also alleged to have represented an individual charged in a felony criminal case. 

“It’s deeply troubling to see unlicensed professionals engage in unlawful and deceptive conduct,” said Alvarez. “Consumers have the right to be protected from those individuals who prey on them, taking advantage of their trust and money for services that they may never see.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s lawsuit is seeking a permanent injunction barring Dominick from collecting attorneys’ fees for legal services, and from misrepresenting himself to be a licensed attorney and CPA to the public. Alvarez also is asking the court to award restitution to consumers and to order the defendant to pay a civil penalty of $50,000.00, additional penalties of $50,000 for each act committed with the intent to defraud, and costs for the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Citizens who believe they may be victims of consumer fraud, should contact the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Consumer Fraud Division at (312) 603-8700. The Consumer Fraud Unit may be able to help you recover your losses, prosecute the person or business responsible for the fraud, and prevent other members of the public from falling victim to the same scheme.

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