US group allegedly ran fake law firm and court proceedings to scam immigrants | New Jersey
Four men were arraigned in New Jersey on Saturday for allegedly trying to defraud immigrants by posing as immigration lawyers and officials, the justice department said.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, who announced the arrests Friday, said the group pretended to run a law firm and staged fake court proceedings in an elaborate scheme to defraud people seeking legal help for their immigration cases.
The defendants made more than $100,000, of which “tens of thousands” were laundered to other co-conspirators in Colombia, according to prosecutors, who charged a total of five people.
The Department of Justice said the scheme caused confusion and devastating consequences for “dozens” of victims. One person missed actual hearings due to deception and was ordered deported “in absentia” by US government officials.
The four people arrested were Daniela Alejandra Sanchez Ramirez, Marlyn Yulitza Salazar Pineda, Jhoan Sebastian Sanchez Ramirez, and Alexandra Patricia Sanchez Ramirez. The fifth person charged is free in Colombia, prosecutors said.
“The defendants engaged in this criminal activity purely out of greed, lining their own pockets and those of their collaborators in Colombia, where they laundered tens of thousands of dollars of victims’ money,” prosecutors said in a court brief filed Friday.
“In doing so, defendants have demonstrated a complete disregard for the potentially life-changing consequences their actions have on their victims—vulnerable individuals who not only lose significant amounts of money but also miss immigration court hearings.”
U.S. government officials said the five operated a fake law firm called “CM Bufete de Abogados Consultoria Migratoria” even though none of them was licensed to practice law in the United States. The defendants then allegedly found “customers” on Facebook and charged them “fees” ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. They also forged documents bearing the logos of the US government.
Defendants pretended to represent their victims in mock trials and other immigration proceedings by impersonating immigration judges, attorneys, and officials at federal government agencies. The justice department said that when a victim discovered the law firm was fake, the group “sent aggressive messages to the victim, including threats of deportation and demands for additional payments.”
They were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of false impersonation.
Over the past year, the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement crackdown has seen a growing number of people impersonate immigration officials to commit crimes including kidnapping and sexual assault.
