The Utah Attorney General’s SECURE Strike Force has filed charges, including unlawful activity, against a 29-year-old South Jordan woman accused of impersonating an attorney in Summit, Salt Lake and Toole counties. Summit County dismissed its case against her on Friday.
According to Summit County Prosecutor Matt Bates, the attorney general’s office filed new charges against Karla Carbo, 29, of South Jordan on Friday. Bates said a warrant was issued and Carbo was taken into custody.
A motion was also filed on Friday to dismiss the county’s case against Carbo, Bates said.
“We have been talking to the attorney general’s office throughout our investigation and agreed when they filed their case they would take our case over,” he said. “It just made sense since this was all really part of one criminal episode and the cases are linked.”
Bates said it is not uncommon when someone commits crimes in multiple jurisdictions in the state to link the cases together and have one entity prosecute.
“Our office wouldn’t have agreed to dismiss her charges if we didn’t think that was the best thing for the case,” Bates said.
The attorney general’s SECURE Strike Force (Statewide Enforcement of Crimes by Undocumented Residents) filed charges against Carbo for identity fraud, communications fraud and forgery.
According to a press release, Carbo is also believed to have been associated with “C.I. Law Group.” The release states C.I. Law Group is a business enterprise Carbo used to engage in a pattern of unlawful activity, which is the state’s version of racketeering.
The attorney general’s office has filed one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, which is a second-degree felony and punishable by a prison sentence of between one and 15 years and a $10,000 fine.
According to the case filing, on Dec. 23, Karla Carbo, 29, attempted to represent a suspect in a 2008 criminal case in Summit County’s Third District Court under the name Karla Stirling. Carbo, who is not a licensed attorney, used Stirling’s Utah State Bar ID number and name to sign court documents.
She was arrested on one count of identity theft, two counts of forgery and one count of communications fraud.
Carbo appeared in court on Tuesday, Jan. 13 for a bail status hearing. She posted bail and was released from the Summit County Jail the same day.
The Utah Attorney General’s SECURE Strike Force investigation is ongoing, according to the release. Possible victims are asked to call the SECURE Strike Force Tipline at 801-200-3443 .