A former Clinton Township attorney is facing felony charges for allegedly accepting a client’s retainer for legal fees, despite being suspended from practicing law in Michigan at the time.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Ziad Khalel, 55, accepted a $10,000 retainer to represent a client as their attorney in December 2025. However, Khalel’s law license had been suspended two months earlier after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud in a separate case and agreeing to stop practicing law, retaining clients or advertising his legal services, according to prosecutors.
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Khalel was arraigned at the 41A District Court in Sterling Heights on Tuesday for one count of false pretenses with intent to defraud — a five-year felony — and an additional offense for being a habitual offender, an aggravating sentencing factor.
He received a $7,500 personal bond and is scheduled for a probable cause conference before Judge Eric Douglas Shepherd on Thursday, June 4.
“No one is above the law,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido in a statement. “Our office applies the law evenly and without exception. A defendant’s profession — whether attorney, law enforcement, or otherwise — does not alter our commitment to protecting victims and pursuing justice.”