A former Christiansburg lawyer pled guilty to seven counts of forgery of a public record as part of a plea agreement Thursday morning in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Gerard Raymond Marks, 45, was originally indicted in April by a Montgomery County Grand Jury on 11 counts of forgery or public documents and 10 counts of uttering. The alleged incidents took place between 1999 and 2007.

As part of the plea agreement, 14 of the charges were dropped against the former lawyer. In addition, the prosecution would not recommend that Marks does not get more than two years in prison. He will also have to pay restitution to his victims and all court costs.

“I will be seeking jail time for Mr. Marks because of the type of forgery involved,” said Botetourt Commonwealth Attorney Joel Branscome, who was brought in to prosecute the case. “The sentencing guidelines do not call for jail time in first offense cases.”

In court Thursday, Branscom summarized the seven cases to Judge Ford C. Quillen of Gate City, who was also brought in to hear the case.

In five of the cases, Marks had forged Circuit Court Judge Robert Turk’s signatures to legal documents, which included adoption orders, land easements and final divorce decrees. One of the cases involved the forging of Circuit Court Judge Ray Grubbs signature and the other involved creating a false document page in a circuit court record book.

Marks, who has been practicing law since 1992 in Virginia, recently had his license to practice law revoked with his consent by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. Marks admitted that he forged the signatures of various judges, as well as the clerk of the State Corporation Commission on various legal papers.

“This is such a unique type of forgery,” said Branscom. “It strikes at the heart of the legal system.”

Branscom went on to say, “It would be surprising if we got all of these forgery cases involving Marks. There could be more out there that we don’t know about.”

Branscom added that if you ever had Mr. Marks as an attorney, you should check with the appropriate clerk’s offices to make sure everything is in order. Should there be a problem, you should contact Branscom's office at (540) 473-8227 or the Virginia State Police.

A pre-sentence report was ordered and Marks is expected to be sentenced on March 12, 2009 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

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