| For Immediate Release Case # 12CF1845 July 17, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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WOMAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR FRAUDULENTLY REPRESENTING HERSELF AS ATTORNEY TO JAIL INMATE
SANTA ANA – A woman will be arraigned tomorrow for fraudulently representing herself as an attorney to a jail inmate. Ellen Anise Rowland, 56, Elk Grove, is charged with one misdemeanor count of the unauthorized practice of law and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. Rowland is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, July 18, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-57, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Prior to March 20, 2012, Rowland is accused of falsely representing herself as an attorney to the father of a County jail inmate. She is accused of fraudulently accepting $1,700 from the inmate’s father under the illegal pretense of providing attorney services.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. on March 20, 2012, Rowland is accused of speaking with the inmate in an in-custody interview booth. When asked by Orange County Sherriff’s Department (OCSD) deputies to provide valid identification, Rowland is accused of lying to OCSD deputies, claiming that her name was “Ellen Williams,” and that she was the attorney representing the inmate.
Rowland is accused of providing deputies with a state bar number belonging to an actual licensed attorney without that attorney’s knowledge or consent. She is accused of possessing 11 Vicodin pills in her vehicle, without a valid prescription.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Duff of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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