Man with 25-year history of impersonating attorneys to be arraigned

A man with a 25-year history of convictions for impersonating attorneys and practicing law illegally was to be arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles County on nine charges of appearing in court on the record as a licensed attorney and offering legal services in family law and personal injury cases.

Deputy District Attorney Ryann Jorban's felony complaint, filed last week, named Efferin Deans of Los Angeles, plus 22 aliases he is alleged to have used. They ranged from the simple, "John Doe," to the more elaborate, "Shilankevnet Efferindeans." The charges, covering the period of January 2019 to September 2021, were: three felony counts of grand theft, three felony counts of practicing law without being a member of the State Bar after a prior conviction, two felony counts of preparing false documentary evidence and one felony count of perjury by declaration, according to a news release from District Attorney George Gascón.

Deans allegedly provided victims and court staff with business cards and other indications of his standing as an attorney to get them to pay him retainers and fees, the news release said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anne Hwang issued a warrant for Deans' arrest last Thursday and ordered a $175,000 bond. People v. Deans, BA499952 (LA Sup. Ct. filed Oct. 27, 2021).

In 2007, Deans was accused of impersonating a lawyer in El Monte and had so many aliases even then authorities said they were unsure of his real name, according to a report by the Redlands Daily Facts newspaper. He was convicted twice before of identity theft.

One of the names he used was "Kenneth Aslan," according to the real Kenneth Aslan, a former Ventura County attorney Deans once met. Aslan met Deans in the early 1990s and exchanged business cards with him, Aslan said in a phone interview Monday. That is when his nightmare began.

Aslan said Deans stole his identity and used his own address to change the mailing address associated with Aslan's California State Bar License. After Deans was arrested in 1996, police found papers with Aslan's name in Deans' briefcase and thought that he might have killed Aslan.

Officers went to Aslan's home, where they questioned his children to find out when they had seen their father last.

"Police showed up at the house and started asking my kids if they had seen me that day or not," Aslan said. "They said they'd seen me that morning."

"When this first started he only received three months because there weren't any identity theft laws at that time," Aslan said. "But later he was given five years."

Aslan recalled, "When he got out I received a call from a law firm wanting to know if 'I' still wanted the job." Aslan said Deans had tried again to use the real attorney's credentials.

The district attorney's office has asked anyone who believes they may have been a victim in this case to call the Consumer Protection hotline at (213) 974-1452.