‘Students for Trump’ co-founder facing decades in jail after pleading guilty to fraud

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A co-founder of the “Students for Trump” youth group faces up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

John Lambert, 23, misled his victims into believing he was a highly qualified lawyer, the southern district of New York attorney’s office said.

After falsely presenting himself as an attorney online, he provided legal advice and services in exchange for money.

Lambert, from North Carolina, took nearly $50,000 (£41,000) from his victims, the New York Post reported.

US attorney Geoffrey S Berman said: “John Lambert represented himself to clients as a prominent New York attorney with a law degree from an elite law school. But Lambert’s de facto career was one of a grifter: he had never been to law school and certainly wasn’t an attorney.”

Lambert used the alias “Eric Pope” and pretended he had graduated from the prestigious NYU law school.

He presented himself as an expert in corporate, finance and property law and said he had worked with hundreds of clients, including “tech moguls” and “entrepreneurs” in the US and Europe.

“Today, Lambert admitted to his crimes and faces time in prison for his misdeeds,” Mr Berman said.

Lambert will be sentenced on 18 November.

He will be unable to vote in the 2020 US election.