Minnesota man convicted of impersonating lawyer

A man accused of impersonating a lawyer at least 10 states was found guilty Wednesday of mail fraud and false statements to a government lawyer he hopes will be the first d a series of federal prosecutions across the country.

It took about an hour and a half for a federal jury to convict Howard O. Bismarck Kieffer, who was brought back in his chair and gulped as the verdict was read.

Authorities Kieffer lied on his application to practice law in the Federal Court, but still represented clients such as the St. Louis Blues former hockey player who pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill his agent.

At trial, two witnesses told the jury that each paid Kieffer at least $ 20,000 to appeal against prison sentences for their families later, it was not a lawyer. The prosecutors testified that they believed that Kieffer was one of their colleagues, because he seemed to know the Federal Court on the issues and because they have seen the lawyer training seminars.

Kieffer's lawyer, Joshua Lowther, called no witnesses, but he said that the Government has not proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The 54-year-old from Duluth, Minnesota, faces 25 years in prison and a fine of $ 500,000, a date for sentencing was not immediately established. Deputy Prosecutor of the United States, said David Kieffer Hagler may be prosecuted in federal court in other states where he posed as a lawyer.

"I hope that other districts in the country that something is going to continue," said Hagler, immediately after the two-day trial.

Kieffer case outside of North Dakota, especially the former player from St. Louis Blues Michael Danton, who pleaded guilty in 2004 for conspiring to kill his agent.

Kieffer was charged in North Dakota last year, after one of its customers, a man accused of child pornography, says a federal judge in Bismarck, which raises questions about whether Kieffer has never been licensed lawyer.

Hagler said Kieffer not verify his credentials.

"They thought he was a lawyer and trusted him," said Hagler the trial began. "Many people have made this mistake."

Court records show Kieffer was convicted of theft earlier and filing false tax returns and served in a federal prison from 1989 to 1992.