November 17, 2021 - On November 10, 2021, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office became aware of an individual attempting to pass himself off as an Attorney at the Merced County Superior Courthouse. The individual was identified as Richard Gilpatrick who also goes by the alias of Richard Richardson or Richy Richardson. Mr. Gilpatrick presented the Court a California Bar Card and after researching the card’s number, deputies determined that it was assigned to an attorney who is deceased. After several days of investigation, detectives determined that Gilpatrick did not have a valid license to practice law in California and investigators identified multiple victims who had gone to Gilpatrick for attorney services.

Today, November 17, 2021, investigators from the Merced County Sheriff’s Office located Gilpatrick in the Fresno area and arrested him for practicing law without a license, petty theft with priors, forgery, and theft by false pretenses. After being transported back from Fresno County, Gilpatrick will be booked into the Merced County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office believes that there may be additional victims in the area, and we are asking anyone with information regarding Mr. Gilpatrick’s law practice to call the Merced County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau at (209) 385-7472.

Source: Merced County Sheriff's Office