Fake immigration lawyers scam clients out of $100K, prosecutors say
A group of fake immigration lawyers swindled clients out of $100,000 by orchestrating phony hearings in which they pretended to be judges and federal agents and wore fake judicial robes and uniforms, according to federal prosecutors. (Image from Shutterstock)
A group of Colombian immigrants pretending to be immigration lawyers swindled clients out of $100,000 by orchestrating phony hearings in which they pretended to be judges and federal agents and wore fake judicial robes and uniforms, federal prosecutors in New York say.
The scam, reported in Law360, the New York Times and other news outlets, involved five individuals who pretended to operate a fictitious immigration law firm that they called “CM Bufete De Abogados Consultoria Migratoria.”
According to the indictment, they solicited clients, mostly via Facebook, and charged fees ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars for their worthless legal advice and services, prosecutors said. None of the individuals involved in the scheme were licensed to practice law in the United States.
Prosecutors said the scheme involved making and sharing fake documents that looked like official U.S. agency documents, some of which referenced real immigration cases pending in court. It also involved facilitating “sham immigration proceedings,” like asylum interviews and court appearances, according to the indictment.
Last summer, the ABA Journal reported that the ABA received at least a dozen separate reports of scammers using its name, logo or office address to promise immigration legal services that were never performed, often charging thousands of dollars, according to an ABA news alert released Tuesday. In at least two of the reports, victims were recruited through Facebook.
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