A 'Students for Trump' co-founder has been sentenced to 13 months behind bars for posing as a lawyer to steal money from his victims.
John Lambert, 25, was handed the sentence by Judge Valerie Caproni on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty for posing as a lawyer named Eric Pope.
Lambert, who promoted the youth political group during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, lied about being a graduate from New York University Law School and a finance degree holder from the University of Pennsylvania. He also claimed to have an experience of being a lawyer for more than a decade.
Being able to cheat clients, Lambert managed to rake in more than $46,000 between 2016 and 2018. Moreover, Lambert's attorney Gary Peters claimed that he was inspired by the fictional Television show, "Suits" that starred British Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle in a prominent role.
Prosecutors said that Lambert lured hundreds of clients, including "tech moguls" and "entrepreneurs" with his fake scheme on the internet. Using the name "Eric Pope," lambert managed to dupe at least six persons and corporations into paying him dollars for supposed law services, according to prosecutors.
Lambert has been ordered to forfeit over $46,000 and pay an extra $21,000 as compensation to his victims. At Tuesday's sentencing, judge Caproni credited Lambert for founding Students for Trump in 2015 and keeping college students engaged in government. However, Judge Valerie Caproni, who handed down the prison sentence to Lambert, said, "You cannot foist this off on being led astray by your co-defendant."
The judge further went on to say that those were actions of a leader and not a follower. Caproni described Lambert as "a cold-blooded fraudster who cared not a whit about the victims of his fraud," according to reports.
Gary Peters' also mentioned that Lambert's Students for Trump co-founder Ryan Fournier was also a partner in his crime. Meanwhile, Lambert, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2019 told judge Caproni that he had "sincere regret," and wishes to apologize to his victims.
Fake Lawyer John Lambert's Arrest
In April 2019, Lambert was arrested in Tennessee for violating federal laws by posing online as a corporate and patent lawyer between 2016 and 2018. He pleaded guilty and signed a plea deal in 2019 whereby he promised to forfeit $46,654 and not appeal any prison sentence of up to 21 months.
'Students for Trump'
'Students for Trump' is an American youth group founded with an aim to promote President Donald Trump. The group was founded by then college students, Ryan Fournier and John Lambert in 2015.
