FraudNews
12-20-2012, 12:24 AM
26 people - all New York translators, paralegals, lawyers and others - were arrested and charged Dec. 18 with immigration fraud for fabricating intricate lies that aided hundreds of Chinese clients pursue asylum applications and assisting them in deceiving immigration authorities.
In a Manhattan Federal Court, the Justice Department read nine unsealed federal indictments that accused the defendants of individual but intersecting schemes that involved an alleged deacon to train application in basic Christian rules to trick agents about religious backgrounds.
If immigrants want to seek asylum they need to show two things:
1 - They’ve been subjected to persecution in the home country due to the following factors: political, social, religion or race.
2 – Fear of this persecution.
According to prosecutors, clients paid the defendants to make up persecution stories that included forced abortion claims or persecution due to political or Christian beliefs. The fraud consisted of fake birth certificates and letters that included false statements that the immigrants had just gotten to the country from China.
Translators would accompany the clients to interviews with the immigrations officers, where they provided the agents with favorable versions of client responses and gave false translations when it was deemed necessary.
21 of the defendants worked in Chinatown; six of which are lawyers in law firms. Indicted firms include: Moslemi and Associates, Law Offices of John Wang, Law Firm of Freddy Jacobs, Law Office of Ken Giles, Law Offices of Adedayo Idowu, Gao and Associates and Bandrich and Associates. No firms were charged in the case but some of the principal attorneys were.
Three more firms were not noted in the indictments.
Defendants have yet to comment and their lawyers are not yet known.
Each defendant faces the charge of conspiring to commit immigration fraud. Five defendants are charged with immigration fraud. Two are facing an identity fraud charge for their part in selling the fake birth certificates.
If convicted, they could face between five and 35 years behind bars.
In a Manhattan Federal Court, the Justice Department read nine unsealed federal indictments that accused the defendants of individual but intersecting schemes that involved an alleged deacon to train application in basic Christian rules to trick agents about religious backgrounds.
If immigrants want to seek asylum they need to show two things:
1 - They’ve been subjected to persecution in the home country due to the following factors: political, social, religion or race.
2 – Fear of this persecution.
According to prosecutors, clients paid the defendants to make up persecution stories that included forced abortion claims or persecution due to political or Christian beliefs. The fraud consisted of fake birth certificates and letters that included false statements that the immigrants had just gotten to the country from China.
Translators would accompany the clients to interviews with the immigrations officers, where they provided the agents with favorable versions of client responses and gave false translations when it was deemed necessary.
21 of the defendants worked in Chinatown; six of which are lawyers in law firms. Indicted firms include: Moslemi and Associates, Law Offices of John Wang, Law Firm of Freddy Jacobs, Law Office of Ken Giles, Law Offices of Adedayo Idowu, Gao and Associates and Bandrich and Associates. No firms were charged in the case but some of the principal attorneys were.
Three more firms were not noted in the indictments.
Defendants have yet to comment and their lawyers are not yet known.
Each defendant faces the charge of conspiring to commit immigration fraud. Five defendants are charged with immigration fraud. Two are facing an identity fraud charge for their part in selling the fake birth certificates.
If convicted, they could face between five and 35 years behind bars.