Media contact for this arrest is Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent and Commissioner of Public Safety, 444-1001
Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent, of the Rhode Island State Police and Commissioner of Public Safety, announces that on August 14, 2012, at approximately 7:30 AM, members of the State Police Financial Crimes Unit arrested Leonidas Medina, age 48, Rhode Island State Representative for the 12th District, for Compensation of Unqualified Persons for Legal Services Prohibited, Solicitation of Business by Agents Prohibited, Agreement or Offer to Furnish Legal Services, and Unauthorized Holding as Qualified to Practice Law. Medina was arrested at his residence located at 271 Washington Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island.
The investigation by the State Police Financial Crimes Unit began in April 2012 when the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office forwarded a complaint and documents from the Rhode Island Superior Court Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee. The investigation confirmed the Committee's findings that Leonidas Medina represented himself as an attorney, solicited business on behalf of licensed attorneys and received $1,250 in cash from two unrelated victims as compensation for promised legal services.
Medina will be arraigned at 11:00 a.m. this morning at the Sixth District Court in Providence on the below listed charges.
§11-27-6 Compensation of Unqualified Persons for Legal Services Prohibited (3 counts) §11-27-8 Solicitation of Business by Agents Prohibited (3 counts) §11-27-10 Agreement or Offer to Furnish Legal Services (2 counts), and §11-27-12 Unauthorized Holding as Qualified to Practice Law (1 count)