A man was sentenced to five years of probation after a judge declared him guilty of posing as a lawyer in a law firm for two years, despite not having a law degree.
Thirty-three year old Brian Valery was working for Anderson Kill & Olick as a paralegal, and earned more than $200,000 as an employee. He claimed that he was a graduate from the Fordham University Law School for his entire employment period.
According to the UPI, he also claimed to have recently passed the state bar exam, earning him the promotion to staff attorney.
According to Newsday, Valery's original sentence was for 15 years in prison for grand larceny. However, Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro decided to cut it to probation as Valery returned $150,000 of the money he earned as an employee at the law firm.
The judge is still asking him for the remaining $75,000.
Throughout his entire tenure in the company, Valery worked for 70 hours a week, and managed to win about 50 cases.
