San Diego

A San Diego man remained in County Jail Monday after being arrested on suspicion of embezzling $50,000 from clients while impersonating a Phoenix attorney, San Diego police said.

Detectives arrested Steven Kurt Dony, 35, as he drove away from his law office in the 500 block of West Beech Street at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Dony is being held on parole violation, and faces additional charges of grand theft, auto theft, and filing a fraudulent credit application, police said.

Police say Dony established the San Diego law office under the name of Curtis Ullmann Associates, Attorneys at Law. Over a period of time, Dony represented numerous local clients, some in court. The real Curtis Ullmann is a lawyer in Phoenix with no connections to Dony, police said.

On Thursday, Dony tried to lease $20,000 worth of office furniture from P.S. Leasing in Oakhurst, Calif. Officials of the company became suspicious when they discovered that a company Dony claimed to represent, Mellon Financial of Philadelphia, does not have an office in San Diego. The branch number he used for Mellon Financial was connected to his home in the 1000 block of Scott Street, San Diego.

Police said Dony ran a similar operation in Riverside and was convicted in September, 1987. He was released on parole in August, 1988. Police said they suspect that Dony has run similar schemes in Sacramento, Orange County and Los Angeles.

Police said that, when they arrested Dony, he was driving a car that had been reported stolen in Los Angeles.