Tillamook attorney Alex Hamalian has been the victim of identity theft, to the tune of at least $150,000. “That’s a conservative estimate of the cash that he stole from me,” said Hamalian. “I’m still fighting with the bank about a $50,000 line of credit,” that the thief racked up in Hamalian’s name. “I’m not at the end of it yet.”
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The identity thief, Christian Neil Johnson, was Hamalian’s law office manager for five years. Johnson was recently convicted in Multnomah County of multiple felony counts of aggravated theft. He has not yet been sentenced.
“It was an elaborate scheme,” said Hamalian. “He did not have signing power over my accounts. But over the years that he worked for me, he collected my personal information, and he used that to open accounts in my name. Then he stole cash from my business accounts, and paid it back with the money from the accounts he opened up.
“When he was arrested they found copies of my birth certificate, my social security number, my mother’s maiden name, my passport and my driver’s license in his possession. He used my information and forged my signature to go to banks and credit card companies where I already had accounts, and open new ones. He opened lines of credit for my businesses in his own name.
“That’s how he got caught; he’d opened an American Express account for my business in his name, and he was having me write checks to pay the bills for my legitimate American Express account and for his, but staggering them, coming in every couple of weeks, hoping I would think that I was paying for two months.”
“I had three law offices and about eight business accounts, including part ownerships in a couple of other businesses, like Fat Dog Pizza (see our story on page X). Hamalian didn’t catch on to Johnson’s thefts right away “because I trusted the guy. He was my friend.”
“I found out about this in January 2011. I had to hire a forensic accountant to find and assess all the damage. I didn’t understand the extent of it at first. But things came to light piece by piece. It felt like getting sucker punched for a year.”
As a result of the financial damage “I had to sell my house in Portland and cash in my retirement accounts. It was my life savings, everything I’ve worked for. And I had to close my law office in Gresham. That hurt. I had a contract there to provide legal defense services for a program for DUII offenders. I cared about that program. I believed in it.”
Because of Johnson’s misuse of funds, Hamalian lost the contract to another provider.
Johnson will be ordered by the court to pay restitution, but Hamalian can’t count on recouping his losses. “The Judge asked us (Hamalian and Johnson) to come to an agreement about what he stole from me. I met with Johnson today, and he looked me in the eye and said, ‘I figure about $60,000, ‘ I had words for him that I won’t repeat to you.”
Hamalian said that at least part of the stolen money was used for gambling. (See our story about pathological gambling on page 1). “For example, he stole a business debit card for Fat Dog Pizza, got a new PIN number and used it to take out $200 to $400 cash a day. He used it in notorious gambling establishments. There are receipts.”
Johnson also used Hamalian’s money to eat out. A lot. “I learned that he really likes to eat,” said Hamalian. “It was a whole lifestyle thing. He gambled, he ate, he partied. He used my life savings to pay himself a hell of a lot more than I pay myself.”
But Hamalian has a surprisingly positive take on being swindled by his trusted friend. “I have been a defense attorney for my whole career…now I know what it feels like to be a victim. And it doesn’t feel good. You could say that this is the ultimate karmic justice. It’s a terrible blow financially. But personally, I’m probably a better person for it.”
“I have a lot to be grateful for. I come from nothing. My brother and I, we are first generation Americans, our parents were immigrants. I’ve worked since I was nine, and I’ve come so much farther than most of the people I grew up with. I have my health. I can still work. I think that perspective has helped me absorb this loss.
“And in the end, it is stuff, you know. I have a good life. I love where I live. I love the ocean and the mountains. I am employable, I have skills, and I can make more money. I have good friends. This year I’ve had friends call me and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing today? Why don’t you come have dinner with us? I am rich in friends. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
