A 52-year-old West Jordan woman has been charged with eight counts of unlawful computer access after allegedly using her divorce attorney's own account to dig through confidential client files that had nothing to do with her case. Amber Lynn Cherrington was charged Friday in 3rd District Court, accused of exploiting access she was only supposed to use for her own divorce paperwork.
According to charging documents reported by KSL.com, the attorney had represented Cherrington in her divorce case about three years before the alleged breach came to light. The attorney had given Cherrington access to her own case through the state's e-filing system using the attorney's account and password, but made clear that access was limited strictly to Cherrington's own files.
That arrangement allegedly fell apart when Cherrington used the account to access numerous confidential client files well beyond her own case, according to the charges. The security breach reportedly was not discovered until May 29, 2026, months after prosecutors say the unauthorized access began.
Utah’s Computer Crimes Act, in Section 76-6-703, covers specified computer access or actions when they produce specified results. Subsection (3) sets penalty levels, including a third-degree felony when the information obtained is confidential or identifying. The statutory framework makes the scope of the permission important: having a valid login does not, by itself, establish authorization to access every file available through the account. Utah’s computer-crime statute sets out those offenses and penalty levels.
Confidential Files Allegedly Spread to Seven Groups
Charging documents reported the dissemination of those files went further than a simple login breach. Prosecutors allege Cherrington sent emails to seven different groups of recipients containing confidential client files, and that those files contained clients' personal identifying information.
Cherrington was upset with the results of her own divorce case, according to the charges, and investigators say that frustration fueled a monthslong campaign against the attorney and the law firm. She allegedly called the law firm repeatedly, emailed the firm repeatedly, and at one point arrived without an appointment and remained in the office for hours, crying and complaining about her case while begging for access to hard copies of her file, demanding to look through the documents herself.
Online Reviews and a Professional Conduct Complaint
Beyond the alleged file access, prosecutors say Cherrington left multiple online reviews of the law firm detailing her own unauthorized use of the court computer system, apparently in an effort to damage the firm's reputation and business viability. She also allegedly emailed the Utah Office of Professional Conduct around May 22, 2026, claiming her attorney had given her unlimited access to her files rather than the limited access the attorney says she actually granted.
The allegations also touch on lawyers’ professional duty to protect client information. Utah’s conduct rules generally bar attorneys from revealing information related to a client’s representation unless the client consents or an exception applies; the duty can cover information beyond what is protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Utah Supreme Court’s confidentiality rule governs lawyers’ handling of such information, while the criminal case addresses the alleged access and dissemination.
Charging documents reported the attorney's alleged financial and emotional harm stemming from the episode. Investigators say Cherrington did not stop after the initial breach was discovered; she allegedly continued trying to persuade other attorneys to file complaints against the law firm, including emailing one attorney in late September to ask whether he had filed a report.
A complaint to Utah’s Office of Professional Conduct is a separate process from a criminal prosecution. The office investigates information that, if true, could warrant professional discipline; receiving a complaint does not itself establish that an attorney violated a rule. The agency says complaints are reviewed and may be investigated, with some referred for a screening-panel hearing. Its role is to regulate lawyers and licensed paralegal practitioners, not to award complainants money. The office’s complaint process describes those steps.
Separate Investigation Into Other Conduct
Salt Lake City police were called by the attorney in May, according to the charges. Cherrington remains under investigation for other conduct separate from the computer access case, including an allegation that she emailed local news stations while purporting to be her attorney's husband and claiming he was about to commit a mass shooting.
Cherrington faces eight counts of unlawful computer access, which under Utah law includes one second-degree felony and seven third-degree felonies, as well as a stalking charge classified as a class A misdemeanor. The charges against Cherrington were reported Friday by KSL.com, which first detailed the allegations drawn from the charging documents.
