Josephine Townsend: Forgery Conviction, Disbarment, and Theft Probe

Josephine Townsend is a former Vancouver, Washington defense attorney who was convicted in 2025 of forging a civil protection order to keep a client from being arrested. A Lewis County Superior Court judge found her guilty of two counts of first-degree forgery and two counts of second-degree identity theft after a four-day bench trial, and she was sentenced to four months of incarceration. She resigned from the Washington and Oregon state bars in lieu of discipline, and as of early 2026 she is under a separate criminal investigation over an allegedly stolen $25,000 client settlement.¹

The Forged Protection Order

The case grew out of Townsend’s representation of Travon Santiago, a 26-year-old arrested in December 2023 on suspicion of first-degree assault. As a condition of release, a judge ordered Santiago to stay 1,000 feet from the alleged victim, Joseph Prendergast, and to wear a GPS ankle monitor. In January 2024, Prendergast’s partner, Angela Foss, obtained a separate civil protection order requiring Santiago to remain at least 5,000 feet from her and her children.²

Because Santiago’s apartment was roughly 1,000 feet from Prendergast’s home, Townsend persuaded Clark County Superior Court Judge Suzan Clark on April 25, 2024, to cut the criminal no-contact distance from 1,000 feet to 500 feet. The 5,000-foot civil order, however, was never modified. Since Foss lived with Prendergast, Santiago’s presence at his own home still violated the civil order.³

On July 17, 2024, Clark County deputies responded to a 911 call from Foss reporting Santiago was violating the 5,000-foot restriction. Santiago’s girlfriend, Nicole Eagle, handed officers a document that looked like a modified civil protection order shrinking the distance. Townsend had emailed the document to Eagle that evening and told her to show it to law enforcement.³

Investigators identified it as a fake almost immediately. It carried what looked like Judge Clark’s electronic signature and County Clerk Scott Weber’s filing stamp, but both the judge and the clerk’s office confirmed no such order existed. It lacked the “EFILE” log and page count that appear on legitimate electronically filed orders. It was dated April 25, 2024, yet Townsend didn’t actually file her motion to modify the civil protection order until July 18, the day after the police encounter. The document also misspelled Santiago’s first name and listed the wrong date of birth, and Santiago told investigators he had never signed it.⁴

Conviction and Sentence

Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office charged Townsend on December 18, 2024, in Clark County Superior Court with two felony counts of forgery under RCW 9A.60.020, plus two counts of second-degree identity theft tied to her unauthorized use of Judge Clark’s signature and Clerk Weber’s filing stamp.³

Her four-day bench trial began July 14, 2025, before Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager. Prosecutors presented evidence that Townsend had copied Judge Clark’s signature from a legitimate order in Santiago’s criminal case, pasted it onto the fabricated civil order, and added the clerk’s electronic filing stamp. Digital logs of Townsend’s computer activity were introduced.⁵

Townsend’s defense argued that Eagle had created the document. Judge Yeager rejected that theory, saying it made no sense that Eagle would have frantically called Townsend asking for the order if she had fabricated it herself. Townsend also claimed Eagle had dropped off a flash drive containing the forged order at her office in early July, but the judge found no corroboration in Townsend’s office records or Santiago’s ankle-monitor data. Judge Yeager cited inconsistencies between Townsend’s trial testimony and a prior polygraph examination, and concluded her motive was fear that Santiago would file a bar complaint against her for telling him he could go home despite the still-active civil order. Townsend was convicted on all four counts.⁵

On August 26, 2025, Judge Yeager sentenced Townsend to four months total: 10 days in the Clark County Jail and the balance on electronic home monitoring, plus 12 months of community custody and a $700 fine.⁶

Failure to Report to Jail

Townsend was ordered to report to jail on September 5, 2025, and did not appear. Prosecutors sought a bench warrant, citing a medical emergency, and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office later found her injured on a logging road.⁷

At a September 11, 2025 hearing, Judge Yeager denied a motion to release Townsend from the jail sentence entirely, citing a lack of information about her condition. The judge declined to issue a bench warrant, saying she did not view the 65-year-old as a flight risk.⁸ Townsend then asked to serve her 10 days on weekends only, and to count hospitalized time against the sentence. Both requests were denied. She was ordered to report to the Clark County Jail by 5 p.m. on November 7, 2025.⁷

Loss of Her Law Licenses

Rather than face formal disciplinary proceedings, Townsend resigned from the Washington State Bar Association in lieu of discipline, effective September 2, 2025. The statement of alleged misconduct cited violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct for committing a criminal act and for dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.⁹ She is no longer eligible to practice law in Washington, and her Oregon bar license carries a “resigned—disciplinary” status as of 2025.¹⁰

The forgery matter wasn’t her first brush with discipline. The Washington State Bar issued her an admonition effective January 4, 2017,¹¹ and she was found in contempt of court for submitting a 2023 notice of appearance that carried a forged clerk filing stamp.¹

Theft Probe and Malpractice Suits

Townsend’s legal exposure did not end with the forgery case. As of March 2026, she is under a separate criminal investigation over the alleged theft of a $25,000 personal injury settlement belonging to a former client. Townsend has denied the allegation, and no formal theft or fraud charges had been filed in that matter as of the most recent reporting.¹²

Five civil lawsuits have also been filed against her in Clark County Superior Court by former clients alleging legal malpractice and negligence in personal injury and estate cases.¹²

1
The Columbian. Vancouver Attorney Josephine Townsend Will Spend 10 Days in Jail for Forgery and Identity Theft
2
The Columbian. Vancouver Defense Attorney Josephine Townsend Charged With Two Counts of Forgery
3
Washington State Office of the Attorney General. AG Ferguson Files Felony Charges Against Clark County Defense Attorney
4
Law & Crime. Defense Attorney Forged Amended Protective Order to Keep Cops From Arresting Her Client
5
The Columbian. Vancouver Defense Attorney Found Guilty of Forgery Identity Theft
6
KOIN. Vancouver Attorney Convicted for Forging Court Documents Will Serve Jail Time
7
The Columbian. Judge Denies Request by Vancouver Defense Attorney Josephine Townsend to Serve Jail Sentence Only on Weekends
8
The Columbian. Judge Denies Request to Relieve Former Vancouver Attorney Josephine Townsend From 10-Day Jail Sentence
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Washington State Bar News. Nov 2025 Discipline & Other Regulatory Notices
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Avvo. Josephine Townsend Attorney Profile
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WSBA. Josephine C. Townsend Legal Profile
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The Columbian. Ex-Vancouver Attorney Josephine Townsend Under Investigation in Theft Allegations