TOMS RIVER — A Utah man has been charged with multiple fraud-related offenses after authorities say he falsely presented himself as a licensed attorney and collected tens of thousands of dollars from victims in Ocean County.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that David T. Schlendorf, 54, of Holladay, Utah, was charged with four counts of theft by deception and five counts of unauthorized practice of law.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Squad and the Toms River Police Department found that in March 2025, a Toms River resident hired Schlendorf for legal representation and paid him roughly $10,000. Authorities allege Schlendorf misrepresented himself as a licensed attorney despite having been disbarred in New Jersey in December 2022.
Schlendorf was initially arrested Oct. 7, 2025, in Toms River by county and local detectives. He was lodged in the Ocean County Jail and later released under New Jersey’s bail reform guidelines.
Further investigation revealed that between January 2023 and September 2025, five additional individuals retained Schlendorf for legal services, paying a combined total of about $60,000.
Authorities said Schlendorf has since been served with the additional charges by summons and is expected to appear in Ocean County Superior Court.
“We suspected there may be additional victims, and unfortunately we are finding this to be true,” Billhimer said in a statement. Officials are urging anyone with information related to the case to contact law enforcement.
Billhimer credited the prosecutor’s Economic Crime Squad and the Toms River Police Department for their collaborative efforts in the investigation.
The charges are accusations, and Schlendorf is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
