An 81-year-old Villager has been arrested after an investigation revealed he has been practicing law without a license.
Morris Hirsch Wolff was arrested at about noon Thursday at his home at 657 Mullins Path in the Village of Mallory Square. He resisted arrest when Sumter County sheriff’s deputies attempted to take him into custody.
A detective began investigating after Wolff placed several calls to the sheriff’s office about a person who he claimed owed him money for legal work. There was also a reported meeting at Millhorn Elder Law Planning Group during which Wolff claimed to be a lawyer with a Pennsylvania license, according to an arrest report.
The detective contacted the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and learned that Wolff had been admitted to the state bar in 1967 but his license was suspended in 1994 for non-compliance. The Florida Bar was contacted and the check revealed no license for Wolff.
A paralegal at Millhorn said that on July 18 Wolff arrived at the law firm with a client and during a meeting provided legal advice on how to handle a trust. Wolff requested payment from the Millhorn law firm.
A check with Wolff’s client revealed that he had offered to help the woman for free. She met Wolff when he was promoting a book he had written. She ended up writing two $200 checks to Wolff and in each memo noted that the money was for legal fees.
Wolff was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $3,000 bond.
Wolff was arrested twice in 2017. The first arrest was for resisting arrest after an incident at the tennis courts at Tierra Del Sol in The Villages. The second arrest was for trespassing also at the Tierra Del Sol tennis courts when he returned there after being banned as a result of the earlier incident.
