A Duluth man with a long track record of swindling people has been charged in federal court with pretending to operate a law firm and defrauding a person out of $12,500 in legal fees for a case he wasn't working on.

According to the Department of Justice, Gale Allen Rachuy, 72, executed a scheme to defraud an Arkansas man by falsely claiming that he could provide legal services for his post-conviction motion in exchange for $10,000.

Rachuy had a "long history of repeated and unrelenting fraudulent conduct," according to U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. His record includes 30 felony convictions, a 2005 conviction for unauthorized practice of law and numerous convictions for theft by swindling someone. Federal jail logs show he last got out of prison in May 2020.

In March, Rachuy allegedly told the interested client he had operated Midwest Legal Service, a Duluth-area law firm, for more than 38 years. He claimed to employ seven active attorneys, a retired federal judge who previously served on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and a retired Hennepin County District Court judge, according to the indictment.

In reality, neither former judge was involved, and the business was not registered, according to the indictment.

Rachuy sent a letter to the victim on March 10 on letterhead customized for Midwest Legal Service, and claimed that the retired federal judge would assist with legal representation, the DOJ said. The letter included a copy of a retainer agreement seeking a $2,500 payment, and on March 15 Rachuy received that amount.

In an email Rachuy allegedly pretended to be the retired Hennepin County judge he claimed was part of his firm and said it would be the final case for the two former judges.

Soon after, the victim became suspicious and confronted Rachuy because he had not yet received a draft of legal documents he allegedly promised to file.

According to the DOJ, Rachuy promised the victim he would promptly refund the money, but never did so. Instead, prosecutors allege, Rachuy continued to falsely assure the victim that the two judges were working on the case.

On March 31, Rachuy allegedly texted the Arkansas man that one of the former judges "just got back and is working on it now."

"I can't bother him when his door is locked," Rachuy wrote, according to the indictment. "Breaks his concentration."

Rachuy was charged with one count of wire fraud. He made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. He was ordered to be held pending a formal detention hearing Monday.

The FBI, Duluth and Hermantown police departments investigated the case, with assistance from the St. Louis County Attorney's Office.

Rachuy's attorney Katherian Roe did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.