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EDWARDSVILLE — The saga for the woman who posed as a licensed attorney to get hired as a Madison County Assistant Public Defender came to a close today with a guilty plea to falsely personating an attorney.
The Madison County State's Attorney's Office today announced Kelcie M. Miller (d.o.b. 3/11/93) pleaded guilty today to False Personation of an Attorney, a Class 4 felony. The defendant was charged on May 30, 2019, for knowingly and falsely representing herself as a licensed attorney to the staff and clients of the Public Defender’s Office. Miller was employed by the Public Defender’s Office from October 2018 through May 2019.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after a court official was unable to independently verify Miller’s credentials and brought it to the attention of Miller’s supervisor. Public Defender John Rekowski requested the assistance of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to investigate after Miller made multiple justifications as to why she could not present the office with her Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) card.
Subsequently, Miller presented an ARDC card that displayed her name but used the assigned ARDC number of an Illinois attorney that did not match up to Miller when searched in the ARDC lawyer registration system. The ARDC card is granted to attorneys upon passing the bar exam and completing the registration and licensing process and is used as proof to a court that an attorney is registered and in good standing. Upon investigation, it was determined that Miller did, in fact, graduate from law school, but was never able to pass the bar exam.
First Assistant State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe said the following about the plea: “There are many victims in this case. The fraud that Ms. Miller committed was not only against the court, it was against her colleagues at the Public Defender’s Office and most importantly, it was to her clients she was trusted to represent. I am pleased that the restitution ordered in this case will force Ms. Miller to pay back all of the money Ms. Miller cost the taxpayers of Madison County.”
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons thanked the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and his prosecutors, First Assistant State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe and Assistant State’s Attorney Chad Loughrey for their work gathering necessary evidence which led to Miller’s guilty plea. Gibbons noted the considerable cooperation of the Public Defender’s Office for the documentation kept leading up to Miller’s false allegations.
Gibbons said: “This felony conviction will ensure the Citizens of Madison County will be repaid every penny the defendant took in salary and benefits while working for the Public Defender. While taxpayers will be made whole, it may still take some time to restore full confidence in the justice system. This is, perhaps, the greatest harm caused by the defendant’s deception. Fortunately, this individual will never practice law in the State of Illinois and any potential future employer will be on notice of the level of deception of which this defendant is capable.”
Miller’s guilty plea was accepted by Associate Judge Ron Slemer. The defendant has no prior criminal history.
In exchange for her guilty plea, Miller will receive 30 months probation and be assessed court costs and probation fees. In addition, Miller will be required to pay $40,232.28 in restitution payable to Madison County Government. The restitution amount represents total reimbursement to the county for her salary she received as well as county contributions to her benefits including medical, IMRF, Medicare, and Social Security expenses.
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