> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # City Hall delivers 42nd charge against Santa Monica woman - URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-delivers-42nd-charge-against-santa-monica-woman/ - Published: 2004-02-11T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:45:45.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Prosecutors claim she posed as an attorney; her lawyer says she was a paralegal* A Santa Monica woman continued to illegally pose as an attorney even after she was charged with multiple counts of the crime last November, prosecutors here alleged on Tuesday. The City Attorney’s Office added one new count to 41 already pending against Anita Clark, who is free on $150,000 bond. Clark allegedly took in more than $60,000 from clients while posing as an attorney and paralegal at offices throughout Santa Monica, and other areas of Los Angeles. Richard DeBro, Clark’s lawyer, for the first time spoke publicly in defense of his client on Tuesday. He said Clark is a certificated paralegal. He accused prosecutors of trying to punish Clark for giving legal help at a low price. “What I think is that the prosecutor has a very narrow view as to what can be performed by a paralegal and or a document preparer,” DeBro said. “And he’s trying to use my client as an example to scare and limit what non-lawyers can do to help the public. I don’t know if he’s acting to expand business for lawyers, because most people can’t afford the legal fees that are charged by lawyers.” But some of Clark’s clients sought her legal advice thinking she was an bonafide attorney. Baron Bruno, 33, a financial consultant who hired Clark to help him get a judgment after a friend defaulted on a $25,000 loan, said Tuesday he hopes to see Clark jailed. Bruno said he found Clark in the Yellow Pages and met with her several times in her office at 204 Bicknell St. in Ocean Park. 3B2,“She had switched addresses a couple times and she was not very good at returning calls. She was very elusive,” said Bruno, adding he paid Clark about $1,000\. “She just made a lot of false promises, she was going to do this, do that.” DeBro questioned Bruno’s version of events. “People complain about lawyers not returning phone calls,” he said. “Sometimes if a client doesn’t get the result they want... they complain about phone calls.” Clark did not appear in court on Tuesday. DeBro asked that her arraignment be delayed until March 10\. Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins agreed, but ordered Clark to appear in person on that date. “I need to see this lady in court,” he said. > “I need to see this lady in court.” — — BERNARD KAMINS Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Kamins also ordered a psychological evaluation be performed on Clark, at the request of Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky, who is prosecuting the case. That report will complement a probation report that is currently being completed, Kamins said. The 42 misdemeanor counts against Clark break down as follows: The most recent charge, illegally posing as an attorney in December of last year, brings the total number of that complaint to 22\. Clark faces another five counts of illegally acting as an immigration consultant and 15 counts of grand theft. If convicted on all counts, Clark could face up to 42 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines, prosecutors said. Michael Slome, 44, a native of South Africa who hired Clark to help him file immigration papers, said he thinks Clark should serve time behind bars. “For one, I’d like my money back, that’s the primary,” said Slome, who paid Clark $2,200 and later realized she allegedly strung him along for a year and half doing virtually no work. “There are times when I think, yeah, she should go to prison... because she preyed on so many people, she needs to do some prison time.” Slome, of Venice Beach, said he met with Clark at her Bicknell Street office. He added he assumed Clark was legitimate because her offices appeared professional and she assured him his case was a “slam dunk.” When he was contacted by the City Attorney’s Office, Slome said he was outraged at apparently being duped. “She’s the quintessential American person — blonde-haired, white, and she totally ripped me off, someone that wanted her help to move to this country,” Slome said Tuesday. “It’s so depressing.” DeBro again questioned the alleged victim’s version of events. “The fact is that immigration matters take a great deal of time,” he said. “They are not... completed overnight. Especially now, with the concerns over terrorists, it takes a long time to handle these matters and often clients aren’t happy if they don’t get the results they want.” Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 11, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)