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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man on parole after being convicted of identity fraud, theft and forgery crimes is facing new charges accusing him of impersonating a retired attorney and making court filings on behalf of inmates at the Utah State Prison.
Patrick Michael Sullivan, 38, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with two counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony; plus identity fraud and seven counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
The investigation began in July 2024 when Sullivan, who was on parole in Iowa, "attempted to contact an inmate in the Utah State Prison via a video conference, by impersonating a retired Utah attorney," according to charging documents.
When an attorney wants to video conference with an inmate, the attorney "must identify themselves by face on video and provide their (Utah State) Bar number." Once that happens, the attorney can have a private conference with their client. In July, "Patrick Michael Sullivan attempted to contact an inmate by impersonating and using the Utah Bar credentials of an actual attorney," according to the charges.
A prosecutor with the Utah Attorney General's Office watched the recording of Sullivan attempting to contact the inmate "and could see that Patrick Sullivan was attempting to cover the camera of his computer with his thumb. However, a couple times (he) appeared to be adjusting his thumb and, in doing so, exposed his face to the camera. Utah Department of Corrections investigators identified (Sullivan) by face," the charges state.
When corrections staff confronted Sullivan about knowing his identity, he responded, "'Who is Patrick?' When asked about his identity, (Sullivan) falsely stated he was an attorney, fraudulently using the name of an actual attorney and giving the Bar number for that attorney. (He) told the Utah Department of Corrections investigators that not being visible on video should not restrict him from speaking with his client," the court documents say.
During its investigation, the Utah Department of Corrections also found 26 filings electronically submitted to the Utah State Courts from July 2023 to July 2024 by Sullivan while impersonating an attorney, the charges allege. Those filings, made on behalf of a handful of inmates, included motions for the inmate's case to be dismissed, a motion to dismiss a judge in a case and orders to transport an inmate.
Between June 13, 2024, and July 28, 2024, Sullivan contacted an actual law firm in Salt Lake City "purporting to be … a retired attorney focused on providing pro bono legal assistance," who "was focused on the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and asked if he can assist … with any pro bono work," according to the charges.
Sullivan also told the law firm "he had a paralegal named Patrick Sullivan" whom he suggested they should utilize. On Aug. 29, the law firm agreed to have the alleged paralegal appear for a parole violation hearing for Sullivan. But on Sept. 5, the law firm "became suspicious that the defendant and the purported attorney were the same person and filed a withdrawal of representation" the next day, the charges state.
Investigators then made contact with the actual attorney Sullivan is accused of impersonating who said "he has not filed any legal documents with the Utah courts for over 10 years. The actual attorney explained that he has not practiced law in Utah for a long time now and has not kept up on his required educational requirements to do so," the charges state.
Sullivan was convicted in Utah County in 2012 of 26 felony crimes, including engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, computer fraud, forgery, theft by deception and making a false insurance claim. In 2014, he was again convicted of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, computer fraud and theft by deception, as well as identity fraud and money laundering.
In the 2012 case, Sullivan was convicted of filing 18 "separate fraudulent insurance claims in order to obtain insurance proceeds to which he was not entitled. In support of the fraudulent insurance claims, Sullivan filed at least three different false police reports and submitted a minimum of 150 forged receipts and at least five forged credit card statements to insurance companies," according to charging documents.
After he was released from jail in 2013, Sullivan "immediately reengaged in several criminal schemes similar to the financial crimes he had previously been involved in," the charges say.
Sullivan was also convicted of identity fraud in 2020 in Sanpete County. He was most recently paroled in April 2024 and was returned to the Utah State Prison in September while his new allegations were being investigated.
