New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

Facing foreclosure on a family home or bankruptcy due to ever rising basic costs is a scary option, but help is available. However, one must consider from where the help is coming. A New York Criminal Lawyer accounts what happened when one attorney decided to help himself instead of his clients.
In Chicago one attorney with the help of his wife decided to defraud clients by promising to help with foreclosure and bankruptcy issues. Clients turned to this Chicago attorney for help in their hour of need and were taken for granted, money stolen, and homes foreclosed on even though payments had been made to the attorney. The attorney was using his client’s money to fund his own goals.
A Lawyer would be one option for representation and given the circumstances this may be the way that the Chicago attorney should precede. The attorney is charged with one count of mail fraud, six counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count of obstruction. His wife is charged with one count of obstruction, two counts of perjury, and one count of bankruptcy fraud. His wife is charged as an accomplice, even though she supposedly did not deal with the clients directly. However, the attorney’s wife lied by completing documents stating that one client had completed a credit counseling course that the client had not completed. The couple told clients that funds paid would be used to make mortgage payments or to complete Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans, but the funds were instead used for the couple’s own benefit, alleges a Criminal Lawyer in New York. It is said that a doctor makes the worst patient and this also holds true for attorneys. This Chicago based attorney should get help from a local Lawyer immediately.
If convicted mail fraud can carry a penalty of up to twenty years with restitution and a 250,000 dollar fine. Bankruptcy fraud in Brooklyn and Staten Island also carries a fine of 250,000 dollars and a maximum penalty of five years. Perjury only has a sentence of five years maximum in prison. The wife is charged with perjury because she allegedly lied under oath when asked if she had the power to speak on behalf of a client. The couple has been indicted by the Grand Jury, but has not yet gone to trial. Trial dates have not yet been released nor have any discussions of a plea or cooperation on behalf of the couple.

Continue reading "Attorney and Wife Indicted " »

Three family members have been arrested and been accused with visa fraud. The family run an immigration consulting business explains a New York City Criminal Lawyer. The family is accused of filing fake marriage and visa petitions. The foreigners who hired their services pad as much as $60,000 for the services.
The NYC Family Lawyer states that these crimes are very serious. The family members involved in the illegal activities could actually end up spending up to five years in prison. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement department detected the illegal activity and decided to investigate. Lawyers in The Bronx and Brooklyn encounter fraud cases such as this many times a year.
The members of the family managed to carry out the fraud by finding US citizens from low income backgrounds. They offered them $2,000 to marry clients so that they can obtain visas. These sham marriages served no purpose other than to allow people to apply for residence permits and visas.
The fees paid to the company were $15,000 for a work visa, up to $60,000 for a visa which was based on marrying a US citizen. The fees charged were able to be very high because what they were offering was completely illegal.
This was a very serious crime because it is important that the US immigration system is not for sale. It should not be possible for foreigners to fraudulently obtain visas to work and live in the USA. Paying people to marry foreigners is obviously a major abuse of the system.
The investigation into the case started towards the end of 2009 explains the NY Criminal Lawyer. They spotted that there were some similarities between different applications which were handled by the company. This was enough to raise concerns about the company as many of the same marriage and divorce certificates were the same ones used for different applications.
The company’s website mentions that it offers immigration services in a number of different areas of the country and the world. They also provide similar services in Georgia, New Jersey and even India. This means that shutting down this small business has probably had a big impact on immigration in lots of countries around the globe.

Continue reading "Suspected Fake Marriage to Obtain Visa" »