The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Tuesday, January 25, 2011 

I t's incredible how this man could be so brazen. Outed last month as an impostor on two counts -- lawyer and journalist so-called --  Pex Aves, alias Pacifico Aves, had been engaged in his racket much earlier than thought. In 2002, according to documents published by investigative journalist Bobby Reyes, a a Los Angeles judge found Aves engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, fined and ordered to return money to his debtors. How he and his law and journalism practice flourished during the period until now has yet to be unraveled. A complaint to the State Bar of California could open a can of worms.

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 PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News 

Volume 5, Issue No. 3

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

PEX AVES AKA PACIFICO AVES - THE NON-LAWYER IN LAW PRACTICE

L.A. Braggart Engaged in 'Unauthorized Practice of Law,' Says Judge

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Member, Asian American Journalists Association

T ORONTO - The doubly bogus man who had flouted his contacts with high Philippine officials and peddled his influence in Los Angeles, California had brazenly engaged in the "unauthorized practice of law" though he was not a lawyer, a Filipino journalist reported in his popular website.

Pex Aves, alias Pacifico Aves, had also been fined and ordered to return money to his debtors, according to documents published by investigative journalist Bobby Reyes in the MabuhayRadio.com.

Aves' name appears neither in the rolls of attorneys in California nor in the Philippines -- a fact that did not stop him from advertising in Filipino newspapers in LA about his "small law office" with a stable of five of what he called "high caliber lawyers".

Though he's not a credentialed journalist, Aves stakes a claim that he runs and manages as "Los Angeles bureau head at kolumnista (sic)" of a "global" newspaper. When asked how "global" it was, he admitted that it has a weekly circulation of 50,000 copies.

"Modesty aside," he wrote in mistakes-laden English-Tagalog, "thousands upon thousands (libo-libo)" wrote that they liked his writings. That was probably meant to back up his questionable reputation.

Court Finds Aves to Have Committed Fraud, Among Other Charges

"T he (Superior) Court," according to Reyes, "found that Aves committed a fraudulent, unfair, and deceptive act, fined him $2,000, and ordered that he return another $3,000 in fees to the debtors."

Aves was not immediately available for comment. In previous weeks, he responded to questions with a barrage of vulgar and racist unprintables.

In the document quoted by Reyes, it said that: "Judge Russell issued findings that Pex Aves, a petition preparer, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law x x x

"The Court found that Aves had several violations of Section 110, including failing to sign the bankruptcy documents, failing to disclose his identifying number, failing to disclose his fees, using the term 'legal' in his advertising, and collecting the filing fee x x x "

Aves had boasted about his high connections in the Philippines and named three congressmen and a cabinent member as his media references, namely,  Herminio Teves, Miguel Romero and Jerome Paras, and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

In Los Angeles, he listed the names of the "high-caliber" lawyers so-called, thus: Fred Holgado, Atty. Mitch Bushin, Atty. Fred Marallag, Atty. Polie Okoronco and Atty. Ben Onyanaco.

Only Bushin's name appears in the California State Bar. Bushin did not respond to queries like the others who can be reached by e-mail. # # #

(© Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 5, Issue no. 3, January 25, 2011. E-mail: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

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For other stories, please visit: 

1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/ 

2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/

3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/

4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ 

5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .