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Milwaukee's accused "Catch Me If You Can" fake attorney has Batavia roots

By Howard B. Owens

UPDATED 2:34 p.m.

A former Batavia resident is expected to soon plead guilty in a Milwaukee county court to charges that he impersonated a lawyer and committed forgery.

According to investigators in Wisconsin, Thomas J. Lyon, 28, not only represented several "clients" in legal proceedings, but also forged checks, stole money, assumed the identity of a deceased notary public and operated a prostitution ring.

According to court documents, Lyon reportedly bragged to an associate at one time that he was like Frank Abagnale Jr., the former con artist depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit movie, "Catch Me If You Can."

Besides Batavia, a public records search shows that Lyon has also apparently lived in Warsaw, where he was born, Buffalo and Hamburg.

Wisconsin court documents state that Lyon was on probation in New York and had his probation transferred to Wisconsin. According to the documents, he was previously convicted in New York of grand larceny, stalking and false imprisonment.

Lyon was arrested for allegedly issuing a bad check in Genesee County in July 2008, according to the Sheriff's Office. According to the arrest report, Lyon lived on Saltvale Road in Middlebury at the time.

In Milwaukee, Lyon is accused of assuming the legal identity of Thomas J. Lyons, a Minnesota-based attorney -- also licensed to practice law in Wisconsin -- who told investigators he hadn't appeared in a Milwaukee court in years. 

Lyon allegedly used the bar identity number of attorney Lyons to pass himself off as the attorney.

Police searched the office space reportedly rented by Lyon at 5301 W. Hampton Ave., Milwaukee, which reportedly had a sign on it saying it was the offices of "Thomas J. Lyons & Associates, Inc.," and found documents indicating Lyon had at least nine legal clients.

On at least one occasion, Lyon allegedly kept a settlement check for $3,000 that was intended for one of his clients.

Lyon also apparently set up a Web site to advertise his alleged legal services.

The documents also include quotes from court transcripts where Lyon allegedly referred to himself as an attorney and questioned witnesses as if he were an attorney.

One of Lyon's employees is also quoted in the documents saying that besides being a secretary in his office, she worked as a prostitute for him.

Though not charged with any prostitution-related crimes, the court documents say that Lyon allegedly operated an escort service called "Lacuna Limited," and that it was really a front for prostitution.

According to the documents, Lyon booked rooms at a Comfort Suites Inn in Milwaukee and set rates at $200 to $250 per hour. Lyon also allegedly hired a guard for the prostitutes. 

He allegedly recruited prostitutes by advertising for lingerie models.

Lyon allegedly collected prostitution proceeds in cash and kept computer records of the proceeds.

In all, 11 charges were originally filed against Lyon.

He is charged with two misdemeanor counts of practicing law without a license, a felony count of theft, three felony counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information or documents, and five felony counts of forgery.

Lyon was jailed on $20,000 bail and apparently remains in custody. His attorney last appeared in court for him Jan. 28 and a court appearance date of March 3 was set for Lyon, when he is expected to plead guilty to at least some of the charges.

The terms of the plea bargain have not been released.

The forgery charges carry a maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine for each charge and six years in jail.

Lori Silvernail

- Lyon is accused of assuming the legal identity of Thomas J. Lyons, a Minnesota-based attorney -

Any idea of what his actual name is? He is being called Lyon, but that's the name he stole, right?

Crazy stuff! Someone will probably make a movie out of this character and he'll get rich in prison

Feb 22, 2011, 1:22pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

It's but an 's' (not to mention birth certificate, diploma and license) that separate Thomas J. Lyon from his assumed identity: Thomas J. Lyons. ...If I've read the story correctly.

(Won't even hint at the mental error that resulted in original version.)

Feb 22, 2011, 2:34pm Permalink
Lisa Falkowski

You've gotta' give him some credit .. he was able to pull it off .. and assuming in a court room, too! He's obviously no dummie. LOL
Seriously, though, this is not a good thing to brag to anyone about.

Feb 22, 2011, 3:32pm Permalink
George Richardson

Judges see a lot of stupid cases before stupid attorneys so I'm really not impressed that he got away with it for awhile. For several years I had two pieces of photo ID that said my first name was Geroge. There is probably a lawyer named Geroge Richardson out there somewhere that I could have pretended to be if I was a lying scumbag thief with no remorse, from the look of his smirk.

Feb 22, 2011, 4:04pm Permalink
Paula Ferraro

Funny thing is, I received a letter from a law firm not too long ago stating that he had declared bankruptcy and I could not pursue him for any money he owed me. Maybe I should have checked into the name on the letterhead!

Feb 22, 2011, 9:02pm Permalink

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