Criminal Justice
Man charged with impersonating lawyer after showing up at traffic stop
Derek Schaufus, 30, of Palm Bay, Florida, was recently charged with misrepresenting himself as qualified to practice law. (Photo courtesy of the Brevard County, Florida, sheriff’s office)
A Florida man wearing a suit and tie showed up to a traffic stop as officers were arresting the driver and allegedly said he was her lawyer, according to news reports.
Police in West Melbourne, Florida, recently charged Derek Schaufus, 30, of Palm Bay, Florida, with misrepresenting himself as qualified to practice law, obstruction by disguised person and resisting an officer without violence, according to reports from WESH and Fox 35 Orlando.
According to police, during the traffic stop, they discovered drugs in the vehicle and were in the process of arresting the female driver.
“While this is going on, this gentleman shows up,” said West Melbourne Lt. Graig Erenstoft.
The man they later identified as Schaufus claimed that the driver was his client, and he allegedly identified himself with the name of a real lawyer.
“Doing a simple check of who this attorney is, the pictures didn’t match up, so we knew we weren’t dealing with this person that he was proclaiming to be,” Erenstoft said, according to WESH.
Police arrested the woman and took her to the Brevard County Jail in Florida. During that time, she told police that she knew the man as Derek, which was not the name he gave to police. She told officers that she had spoken with him in the past, and he had told her that he was a lawyer, according to an arrest affidavit.
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