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PROVO — An attorney in Utah County accused of lying about his representation of a client and forging signatures — including one of another attorney — is facing several felony counts.
Aaron Banks, 47, of Provo, was charged Wednesday in 4th District Court by the Utah Attorney General’s Office with communications fraud, a second-degree felony; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
In 2017, Lisa Neilson was involved in a serious crash and hired Banks to handle her civil claim, according to charging documents. In July 2018, a summons was served on the woman who allegedly caused the accident and her attorney, Glen Thomas.
Although the summons return had Thomas’ purported signature on it, “Glen Thomas did not serve the summons and reported to the court that his signature was forged,” charging documents state.
In June 2019, Banks presented to his client a “notice of settlement and release of claims to Lisa Neilson in the amount of $230,000,” the charges state.
But while Neilson had agreed to the settlement, the other woman and her insurance company had not, according to charging documents.
“The document was proven to be a fake and was authored by Aaron Banks,” the charges state.
In July 2019, Banks sent his client a final settlement document to sign in the amount of $230,000, according to the charges. But when she sent the settlement back, Banks changed it to $25,000, the charges state.
Banks then sent a settlement agreement to the other woman in the amount of $25,000 with Neilson’s signature on it, according to court documents.
“Lisa Neilson denied signing this document and stated her signature was forged,” the charges state.
The forged signature was confirmed by a notary, the charges state.
In October, Banks presented Neilson with three checks. One was allegedly written by the other woman’s insurance company for $25,000 but determined to be a forgery, according to charging documents
“This was to dupe Lisa Neilson into believing her settlement had been agreed to and for her to pay Aaron Banks $30,000,” the charges state,
Another check was written by Banks to Neilson in the amount of $25,000, but Banks immediately put a stop payment on it after giving it to his client, according to charging documents.
A message left on Banks’ work phone was not immediately returned Thursday.
