St. Louis-area lawyer indicted on fraud charge accused of stealing his mother's identity

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis County lawyer who went missing for more than four months amid mounting legal troubles is accused of stealing his mother's identity by enlisting a client to impersonate the woman.

Jeffrey M. Witt, 39, was arrested last week in New York after stepping off a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul. He hasn't yet been returned to St. Louis to answer felony charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (bit.ly/Na6hGJ ) reported Thursday that Witt relied on a client pretending to be his mother to take out a $100,000 loan using the deed on her Des Peres home as credit. Prosecutors say the client then endorsed a $60,000 check that Witt deposited into his office account but used for personal expenses.

Shortly before Witt went missing, Missouri's chief disciplinary counsel filed a 10-count complaint him that alleges that as far back as 2009, Witt had lied to clients and the court, missed deadlines and court hearings, mishandled money, failed to file necessary documents or improperly filed them and didn't tell clients that an employee was a disbarred former lawyer who was also a convicted felon.

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St. Louis-area lawyer indicted on fraud charge accused of stealing his mother's identity