Man in License Case Gets Year for Theft

A Fillmore man who masqueraded as an attorney was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to refund nearly $22,000 in fees he collected from 24 clients, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Kenneth A. Schweit, 38, pleaded guilty to 12 felony theft charges and two misdemeanor counts of practicing law without a license.

Schweit graduated from law school but never passed the bar exam, prosecutors said. He represented clients in civil and family law proceedings and used knowledge gleaned as a law clerk to represent them in court.

But investigators said he took money from several clients that he never represented in court and lied about the results of their cases. Schweit was tripped up when Ventura County Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren asked for his law license.