A New Haven man has been arrested for allegedly representing clients in court for about 13 years, even though he's never been an attorney.

Inspectors with the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State Attorney arrested 56-year-old Jerome Dunbar on July 3 and charged him with seven counts of unauthorized practice of law. The offense is a Class D felony and Dunbar could face upward of more than five years in prison and $35,000 in fines.

Dunbar, who has several unrelated convictions primarily for issuing bad checks, is being held on $25,000 bond, pending a July 29 appearance in Hartford Superior Court.

According to an arrest affidavit, beginning in 2006 and up to 2019, Dunbar provided counsel and attempted to represent clients in the Connecticut Appellate Court, Connecticut Superior Court, Connecticut Housing Court and Connecticut Department of Labor hearings. The affidavit alleges he filed appearances, wrote and submitted motions, gave legal advice and attempted to appear in front of judges of both the appellate and superior courts on behalf of clients.

It is unclear how Dunbar was allegedly able to work for years representing litigants without a law license.

Representing Dunbar is the Office of the Public Defender in Hartford. Dave Warner, chief public defender for that office, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Brian Staines, chief disciplinary counsel for the state's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

The arrest affidavit said Dunbar told authorities he believed he was within his rights to represent clients because he was using the title “Attorney in Fact.” But in presenting himself as an attorney when he was not one, Dunbar violated the Connecticut General Statute, according to the affidavit.

The OCDC wrote a letter to Dunbar in 2007 advising him that describing himself as an ”attorney in fact” didn't give him “the right to act as a legal representative in a court or quasi-legal forum,” according to the affidavit.

During the course of its investigation, the OCDC allegedly found that Dunbar told the Department of Labor that he'd used the wrong terminology in documents when he referred to himself as attorney in fact. At the time, the OCDC believed it was a one-time incident, and closed the case in May 2007. But Dunbar allegedly continued to take on clients for years, and represented at least seven individuals.

In response to other complaints, the OCDC wrote to Dunbar in 2010, advising him he could not represent a client in an administrative matter.

“Only a lawyer can do that,” according to that letter quoted in the arrest affidavit. “We have told you that in the past.”

According to the affidavit, the Statewide Grievance Committee then gave Dunbar 30 days to respond.

“I have no evidence that Dunbar ever responded to the letter,” said Joanne Schaller, an inspector with the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice, who wrote and signed the affidavit. “The OCDC closed this case on Nov. 2, 2010.”

But, the affidavit says, since 2014, several more complaints emerged against Dunbar, including allegations he attempted to represent a man in a foreclosure case, a woman in an eviction proceeding and another litigant in a custody modification case.