Fake lawyer accused of scamming $1.6m from Melbourne law firms

The Australian woman earned more than $1.6 million dollars by pretending to have her legal qualifications. Photo / Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images

In an incident that echoes the popular legal drama Suits, a woman allegedly scammed more than $1.6 million from several Melbourne law firms by pretending to be a qualified lawyer.

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court has suppressed the name of the fake lawyer, but court documents show she made a staggering profit tricking several legal practices across the city, according to The Australian.

Pretending to have a practising certificate, the woman told prospective employers she had graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2008 with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws.

However, this was a lie, and she is now facing six charges for dishonestly obtaining her less than meagre solicitor’s salary over the past seven years.

Each charge relates to her employment at a different Victoria law firm, the names of which have all been suppressed.

In early 2019, the fraud began, earning the woman a total salary of A$543,446 ($636.785) by August 2021.

The Australian said she rose up the ranks to eventually work as a senior legal counsel between December 2022 and August 2025, pocketing a whopping A$661,381 ($774,976) in the role.

Three other charges pertain to wages of A$125,693 ($147,246), A$61,598 ($71,160), and A$35,967 ($42,136) earnt from September 2021 to September 2022.

An investigation led to her arrest by Financial Crime Squad detectives last week, with her first court appearance on Monday.

She will appear in court again next month as the case continues.

In 2017, an Auckland woman scammed a man into believing she was a lawyer, pretending to take him on as a client and faking charges against him so he would believe he was in need of her legal assistance.

Kalpana Narayan charged the man several fees for her services but was never actually received any legal training, including a hefty $6500 “bond”.

She was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for the swindling, with Judge McAuslan remarking the victim impact statements had made for upsetting listening.

“The breach of trust is just appalling and many of these victims were known to you so the upset and loss is compounded by this terrible feeling of abuse of trust.”