All 14 Suits Characters Who Found Out Mike Ross Secret (& When)

Although Mike and Harvey tried to keep their fraud a secret in Suits, there are some characters in the series who end up finding out the truth. The cast of Suits was led by Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht, with Adams playing Mike, a genius who begins working at Pearson Hardman as an associate despite not being a lawyer. Mike’s secret is at the center of the series, and the threat of his exposure is what makes Suits one of the most entertaining legal dramas.

During his time at Pearson Hardman, Mike was in constant fear of being exposed. Mike manages to keep the fact that he doesn’t have a license to practice law from the authorities in the first four seasons of Suits. However, his secret is ultimately revealed, and he has to face the consequences of his lies. Still, before Mike was arrested, quite a few characters found out the truth about him.

14 Donna Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 1

Donna Overheard Mike And Harvey’s Conversation

Donna had been Harvey’s secretary since his days at the prosecutor’s office. She had the habit of keeping the intercom line to Harvey’s office open to anticipate what he would need her to do. On Mike’s first day at Pearson Hardman, Donna was listening in on Mike’s conversation with Harvey. She overheard Harvey telling Mike he had to let him go because he didn’t want Jessica to find out that Mike didn’t go to Harvard.

Donna kept Mike’s secret because she understood how much he meant to Harvey.

Despite Donna discovering that Mike didn’t have the license to practice law and thus knew nothing about being a lawyer, she didn’t make his job easier. Oftentimes, Mike had to figure out how to fill in forms for court and would turn to Rachel for help. Donna kept Mike’s secret because she understood how much he meant to Harvey. Eventually, Mike and Donna’s professional relationship got better, and she became more inclined to help him.

13 Jenny Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 7

Jenny Found Out When She Discovered Mike Was Working At Pearson Hardman

Jenny, Trevor’s ex-girlfriend, was friends with Mike before they started dating. Given their friendship and her relationship with Trevor, she knew that he hadn’t graduated from law school. So, when she attended his mock trial, Jenny figured out that he was practicing law without a license.

After they started dating, Jenny advised Mike to tell Trevor about their relationship, but he was afraid that he wouldn’t take it well. She’s the one who told him that Trevor had told Jessica his secret. Jenny and Mike broke up after she found out that he had kissed Rachel, which wasn’t surprising because she didn’t want to be with someone who was lying to her as Trevor had.

12 Lola Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 8

Lola Hacked Into The Harvard Law School Alumni Database

Lola was the first person outside of Mike’s inner circle who found out about his secret. Lola appeared in the eighth episode of Suits season 1 as a modern-day Robin Hood who uses her hacking skills to steal money from her father’s company. Mike was tasked with getting Lola to return the money, but she didn’t want to. In an attempt to find blackmail material and get Mike off her back, Lola looked into him and discovered that he didn’t attend Harvard Law.

After Mike helped Lola with her father, she hacked into the Harvard Law School alumni database and put his name on the list as a way of showing her gratitude. She also helped him get a Harvard Law School diploma. While Lola’s help alleviated some of Mike’s anxiety, he understood that getting his name on the Harvard Law School Alumni database didn’t mean he wouldn’t get caught.

11 Trevor Evans Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 10

Trevor Had Always Known Mike Didn’t Go To Harvard Law School

As one of Mike’s oldest friends, Trevor always knew that Mike didn’t attend law school because he was kicked out of college when he was caught helping a girl cheat on her exams. When Trevor returned to Mike’s life after they had a falling out, he found out that Mike had a new job as a lawyer. Since he knew Mike wasn’t a real lawyer, he figured out that he was working as an associate under false pretenses.

Trevor and Mike’s relationship had been rocky since he started working for Pearson Hardman. So when Trevor found out Mike was working at a prestigious law firm without a license and that he was dating his ex-girlfriend, Trevor got his revenge by telling Jessica the truth. Trevor returns an Suits season 5 after seeing the error of his ways and encourages Mike to quit his job.

10 Jessica Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 10

Trevor Told Jessica Mike’s Secret

Throughout Suits season 1, Mike and Harvey’s goal was to keep Jessica from finding out that the latter didn’t go to law school. Unfortunately, their plan failed and Jessica discovered Mike was a fraud. In the season finale of Suits season 1, Trevor told Jessica that Mike didn’t attend Harvard Law School and wasn’t a real lawyer.

Following Trevor’s confession about Mike, Jessica tells Harvey to fire him because of the fallout the fraud would have on the firm. However, Harvey didn’t want to let Mike go, so he resorted to blackmailing Jessica into letting him stay at Pearson Hardman. Eventually, she got on board and even promoted Mike to junior partner. In Suits season 6, Jessica got disbarred in New York for her participation in Mike’s fraud.

9 Clifford Finds Out In Suits Season 1, Episode 12

Mike Told Clifford His Secret

Clifford appears in the Suits season 1 finale, “Dog Fight.” During his days as a prosecutor, Harvey had helped put Clifford behind bars. But he later found out that Clifford was wrongfully arrested because Cameron Dennis had hidden crucial evidence during his trial. Harvey and Mike set out to get Clifford released, and it was during one of their meetings that Mike revealed what Harvey had done for him, thus revealing his secret.

Mike and Harvey managed to outsmart Tanner and got Clifford released. As a way of showing gratitude, Clifford didn’t divulge Mike’s secret. In Suits season 5, Mike goes to Clifford’s house to ask him to testify at his trial, but he discovers that he is dead.

8 Rachel Finds Out In Suits Season 2, Episode 16

Mike Told Rachel He Didn’t Attend Harvard Law School

At the end of Suits season 2, Rachel finds out about Mike’s secret. Since season 1, Mike and Rachel had a will-they-won’t-they relationship which was made more complicated by the fact that Mike was hiding something from her. Sensing that the secret was one of the reasons they couldn’t be together, Rachel distanced herself from Mike. He eventually told Rachel that he didn’t go to Harvard Law School.

The season finale of Suits season 2 is one of the most important episodes in the series because it was a turning point for Mike and Rachel’s relationship. However, the fact that Mike was a fraud was difficult for Rachel, not only because it was illegal, but also because of what it would mean for her career if it were revealed that she knew about his lie. She urged Mike to stop working at Pearson Hardman, but he accepted his promotion to junior partner, which caused tension in their relationship.

7 Scottie Finds Out In Suits Season 3, Episode 16

Harvey Told Her Mike Isn’t A Real Lawyer

Scottie learned the truth about Mike in the Suits episode, “No Way Out.” Scottie and Harvey had an on-and-off relationship since their college years that couldn’t survive Harvey’s inability to be emotionally open. In a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, Harvey tells Scottie that Mike didn’t go to law school, but he had decided to hire him despite knowing he was committing fraud.

When Scottie discovered that Harvey had lied to her about Mike, she decided to end their relationship because she felt that he had chosen Mike over her. Later in the series, when Mike’s secret is exposed, Harvey suspects that Scottie is the one who revealed his secret. Despite how she felt about Harvey, Scottie was willing to testify against Mike if she was asked to.

6 Louis Finds Out In Suits Season 4, Episode 10

Mike Accidentally Revealed His Secret

Given that Mike was working in a law firm that only hired Harvard Law School graduates, it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake that would expose him. At the end of Suits season 4, episode 10, Mike fails to recognize a key in Louis’ office that is given to students who graduate magna cam laude from Harvard Law School. This is when everything clicked for Louis, and he figured out that Mike didn’t attend Harvard Law School.

Louis had always felt like he was an outsider at Pearson Hardman, which ultimately made him use Mike’s secret to his advantage. He confronted Jessica and told her he would expose her for her role in the fraud if she didn’t make him name his partner. He got his way, and the firm changed its name to Pearson Specter Litt.

5 Professor Henry Gerard Season 4, Episode 12

Professor Gerard Knew Mike Didn’t Attend His Legal Ethics Class At Harvard Law School

Professor Henry Gerard is one of Harvey’s clients and a legal ethics professor at Harvard Law School. After Mike helped him with a tricky legal problem, Professor Gerard wondered why he couldn’t remember Mike attending his class. So he decides to look for his records and finds out that he didn’t have any Mike Ross in his legal ethics class.

Out of gratitude to Harvey and Mike, Professor Gerard decides to keep Mike’s fraud a secret.

Before Mike got arrested in Suits, Harvey thought it was Professor Gerard who exposed him. While Professor Gerard sympathized with Mike, he wasn’t willing to lie to the U.S. Attorney’s office and risk going to prison for him.

4 Claire Bowden Finds Out In Suits Season 4, Episode 13

Rachel Admitted To Claire That Mike Wasn’t A Lawyer

Mike hadn’t run into someone from his past until Claire Bowden became an opposing attorney in one of his cases. Claire and Mike knew each other from his days as a messenger. So, when she saw his name on her case files she wondered if it was the same Mike Ross she knew. Fearing exposure, Mike had Rachel work on the case for him, but she made an error when she removed his name. Claire noticed this and confronted Rachel, who ended up admitting the truth.

Although Claire agreed to keep Mike’s secret for Rachel’s sake, she wasn’t happy with the decision. While it might seem that she told Mike to leave Rachel out of jealousy, the advice she gave him was right. She understood that if Mike was exposed, Rachel would be one of the people most affected by his fraud.

3 Father Walker Finds Out In Suits Season 5, Episode 10

Trevor Evans Told Father Walker That Mike Was A Fraud

Mike’s fraud is something that had been weighing on him from the time he joined Pearson Hardman. To ease his conscience, he went to confess to Father Walker, a priest who used to teach at the Catholic school Mike attended. However, it turned out that Trevor had already told him that Mike was a fraud.

Father Walker didn’t try to make Mike feel better by validating what he was doing. Instead, he encouraged him to quit his job instead of continuing to lie. Mike was afraid that Rachel would leave him, but the priest knew that keeping up the charade was what would ultimately end Mike and Rachel’s relationship.

2 Sheila Finds Out In Suits Season 5, Episode 12

Sheila Read An Article About Mike’s Promotion

As an employee of the Harvard Law School admissions office, Sheila had a pretty good idea of who attended the prestigious law school. When she came across an article about Mike’s promotion, she immediately knew that he didn’t attend Harvard Law School because she didn’t have a file on him. She wrote an email to the U.S. Attorney’s office exposing Mike’s secret.

However, she also ends up knowing that Louis knew about Mike’s fraud and kept it a secret.

When Louis discovers she’s the one who turned Mike in, he confronts her. However, she also ends up knowing that Louis knew about Mike’s fraud and kept it a secret. Sheila didn’t expose Mike for malicious reasons. She simply did it because she believed it was the right thing to do.

1 Anita Gibbs Finds Out In Suits Season 5, Episode 12

Anita Received An Anonymous Email From Sheila

Anita Gibbs, the Assistant U.S. attorney, was the lead prosecutor on Mike’s fraud case. She found out about his secret when she received an anonymous email from Sheila that said he hadn’t attended Harvard Law School. The email prompted her to begin an investigation and get Mike arrested.

Anita knew Mike wasn’t a victim but a criminal, and she was relentless in her pursuit of justice. Mike might have had good intentions, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he had committed a crime. Anita tried to get Mike to turn on Harvey and Jessica later on in Suits, but he chose to go to jail to save his friends.