Police in Las Vegas this week arrested a 36-year-old woman for posing as an attorney and accepting fees to help clients “file documents” for divorces, legal reviews, name changes, and adoptions.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Cenia Poulsen defrauded multiple victims since January 2022. She has been charged wih forgery, theft, preparing or delivering a simulated legal document, and offering false instruments for public filings.
Investigators said she also used the names Cenia Del Pozo and Cenia Carillo in her “work.”
According to KLAS, detectives made the arrest after a six-month long investigation that revealed she had created fake emails from current judges, forged judges’ signatures, and used fake filing stamps on documents.
The station said it saw documents in one case in which Poulsen created fake documents with a forged judge’s signature leading a couple to believe they were legally divorced. She collected nearly $1,500 from the couple, including a retainer she accept via Venmo.
At one point, when asked for a document, Poulsen responded via text, “I’ve been doing this for 16 years.”
When a name change didn’t go through properly, Poulsen made excuses, including saying the judge had committed suicide so the case was reassigned.
Outside her illegal legal ventures, the documents revealed, Poulsen also defrauded a co-worker who loaned her $15,800 so she could leave town for a death in the family. Police said that story was false, and she, her husband, and two friends used the money to attend the Stagecoach Country Festival in California.
In that incident, she allegedly created fake emails from Chase Bank.
Police have also accused Poulsen of posing as a notary public. They found at least 25 documents signed by her as a notary public, although she was suspended after a complaint in 2012 and expired four years later. She also used an identification number belonging to someone else and a second one that did not correspond to any notary publics.
Police further said that she is accused of stealing more than $7,300 from a law firm where she previously worked, creating fake invoices and paying for them on company credit cards.
Further, KLAS said it had learned that Poulsen is married to a Las Vegas police officer.
Metro police ask anyone who may have had legal work processed by Poulsen to call (702) 828-3251.
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[Featured image: Cenia Poulsen/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police]
