Disbarred attorney accused of practicing law
A disbarred attorney remained in jail Friday on a combined bond of $400,000 after being accused in DuPage and Will counties of impersonating a Naperville lawyer.
Prosecutors said Timothy F. Eddy continued practicing law - despite losing his license more than eight years ago - after pretending to be another man with whom he once worked.
Eddy is charged with identity theft, forgery and false impersonation of an attorney. The 46-year-old Burbank man was arrested on a warrant July 21. He pleaded not guilty to the 11-count felony indictment Aug. 25.
Eddy, a Valparaiso University of Law graduate, became a licensed attorney in 1989.
He was disbarred Jan. 28, 2002, after he was accused of pocketing thousands of dollars beyond his 16 percent fee while representing a debt collection service, according to state records.
Police recently began investigating him for his legal representation of a 24-year-old Joliet man whose mother paid Eddy to defend her son on traffic and criminal charges in DuPage and Will.
The man was charged with selling Ecstasy pills during an undercover narcotics sting in Naperville. Eddy filed an Aug. 24, 2009, appearance under the other lawyer's name. Eddy also filed a March 1 motion in which he sought a bond reduction. Authorities in Will County became suspicious and tipped off those in DuPage.
Ironically, a search of state records shows the other attorney whose identity was stolen also does not have a valid license as of this year because he failed to complete his continuing legal education requirements.
Eddy is due back in court Sept. 13 before DuPage Associate Judge Robert Kleeman.