Charges: Man claimed to be lawyer, defrauded couple for $340,000

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis man is facing federal charges for several schemes, including pretending to be a lawyer.

Federal prosecutors say Otis Mays claimed to be a member of the American Bar Association, but now he's behind bars for wire fraud and possessing and receiving child pornography.

Prosecutors say Mays posed as an attorney and offered to help a husband and wife evict tenants from their rental properties.

He also told them their son, a college student at Minnesota State University-Mankato, had visited terrorist websites and was facing federal, criminal and terrorism charges.

Mays told the victims if they paid him $30,000, their son could avoid going to jail and for an additional $6,222, the charges would be dropped. He also said for $305,000, he could resolve any legal problems that arose from what he called “pirated" videos on their son's computer.

In all, prosecutors say Mays took more than $340,000 from the couple and provided nothing in return. He is also accused of recording himself having sex with a minor and receiving several video files containing child pornography.

Prosecutors say in both cases, Mays may have additional victims.

If you have any information about him, you can contact the FBI at 763-569-8000.