Chesco Attorney Pleads Guilty To ID Theft, Stealing From Ex-Wife

WEST CHESTER, PA — Convicted Chester County attorney Joshua Janis, 40, of New Jersey, pleaded guilty to 31 counts of identity theft, forgery, access device fraud, and theft by deception stemming from cases involving his ex-wife and his former mother-in-law.

In December 2020 Janis was convicted of stealing from clients when he was a practicing attorney. He will be sentenced for both convictions on March 22, 2021, according to court documents. He faces decades in prison, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said in December, even before his recent guilty plea for other charges.

Chester County Detectives investigated the case and John McCaul and Ron Yen were the prosecutors.

A Chester County jury on Dec. 9 found Janis guilty of stealing from dozens of his clients by taking their money but failing to deliver the legal services agreed upon. He was charged with — and found guilty of — 34 counts of felony theft and multiple counts of receiving stolen property, according to court documents.

The defendant practiced as an attorney when he deceived clients from 2013-15, official documents said. Late in 2015, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Janis's law license for five years, the D.A.'s office said.

Janis had worked for a West Chester Law firm in 2013. He resigned when it was discovered that he had been stealing money on multiple occasions from the firm or its clients, the district attorney's report said.

He resigned and started his own law practice, The Janis Law Firm, LLC. Over the next two years, Janis defrauded more than 25 clients into paying for legal representation for various cases, such as civil disputes, personal injury, underage drinking, divorce, child custody, protection from abuse, and criminal defense, the D.A. reported.

Once Janis received the money, he either did not perform the work required or did the bare minimum, according to the court records. The case against Janis stated that after he received the money from his clients, he stopped communicating with them about their cases. In some cases, he hurt his clients' legal interests by acting contrary to their legal position, the district attorney said.

Janis used the money on strip clubs, porn, and other personal expenses, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said in 2018, when the charges were filed.

Following those charges, Janis and his ex-wife separated and divorced, authorities said. In the ensuing months, his ex-wife began getting bills from numerous accounts she had never opened, with T-Mobile, Bank of America, AT&T, Comcast, Capital One, Key Bank, and Chase, police said.

The Bank of America account alone racked up $20,000 in debt in her name, authorities said.

In another instance, Janis accepted an annual interest rate of 98.69 percent on a loan in her name.
Janis was charged with identity theft, forgery, access device fraud, and theft more than two years ago and only recently pleaded guilty to those charges.

Justin Heinze contributed to this report.

Make sure you know what's happening in your town. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss any local news: https://patch.com/subscribe.