Man accused of posing as attorney at Harris County crash scene faces rare charge

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A man accused of posing as an attorney and offering legal assistance to a driver involved in a crash along the North Beltway is facing a rarely filed criminal charge.

According to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, Pedro Cura, 53, showed up at the scene of a two-vehicle collision near the North Freeway over the weekend, despite not being involved in the crash or being a licensed attorney.

Deputies say Cura was wearing a green vest displaying his phone number. His vehicle had the same information.

According to court records, Cura photographed the damaged vehicles and offered to help one of the drivers with their case.

During Cura's first court appearance, a magistrate expressed concern about the allegations, particularly because the people involved in the crash were in a vulnerable position.

"There's a real danger in this type of behavior because you're talking to people who have just been in an accident and in a vulnerable state," the magistrate said.

The magistrate also noted that the people involved were Spanish-speaking and could have been especially reliant on someone claiming to understand the legal process.

Cura is charged with barratry, a crime defined under the Texas Penal Code as illegal solicitation of professional employment with the intent to obtain an economic benefit.

The charge is unusual in Harris County. An ABC13 review of Harris County District Clerk criminal case records dating back to 2020 found no cases explicitly listed as barratry.

During the hearing, the magistrate described the alleged conduct as falsely representing oneself as an attorney.

"Claiming you have legal knowledge and can help somebody is illegal because there is a specific level of trust that is conferred upon people of authority, which includes lawyers," the magistrate said, adding, "In other words, this entire situation is fraud."

Precinct 4 deputies arrested Cura, who told the court he works selling solar panels.

The magistrate also acknowledged the difficulty of preventing similar encounters, noting that the court could not prohibit Cura from talking to people, displaying his name on his vehicle or appearing at accident scenes where he might have a legitimate reason to be present.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said accident victims should never be taken advantage of during stressful situations.