LOS ANGELES –An immigration consultant and one of her employees were arrested Thursday for allegedly filing fraudulent “green card” applications for immigrants who were married to U.S. citizens, some of whom paid more than $20,000 for their services, officials said.
Claudia Arreola, 35, of El Monte, who owns California Immigration Services, and her business associate, Leticia Gutierrez, 35, Pico Rivera, were taken into custody this morning by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, authorities said.
The two women were charged in a six-count indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury. If convicted, both defendants are facing up to 60 years in federal prison, officials said.
“Fraud scams run by so-called notarios threaten the integrity of the immigration process and offer false hope to desperate people,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The two women in this case victimized immigrants for years by giving the false impression that they could fix immigration problems.”
According to the indictment, the defendants submitted paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of six foreign nationals who were seeking to obtain “green cards” – permanent resident status – based on legitimate marriages to U.S. citizens.
The applications filed by the defendants allegedly included fraudulent I-94 cards indicating that the immigrants, who originally came to the U.S. illegally, entered lawfully on visitors’ visas.
The immigrant victims were originally quoted fees of approximately $7,000, but the defendants ultimately charged them as much as $24,000.
To pay the debt, some of the couples borrowed against their credit cards or obtained loans from family and friends. Subsequently, investigators say when several of the foreign nationals sought refunds after they failed to receive “green cards,” the defendants allegedly threatened to contact authorities and have the aliens deported.
In 2003, officials said the Attorney General of the State of California filed suit against Arreola and Gutierrez, among others, alleging that defendants had engaged in an illegal scheme to provide immigration services in violation of California law.
Both Arreola and Gutierrez entered into settlement agreements in which they promised not to engage in illegal immigration consulting services in violation of California law, specifically agreeing not to promise certain benefits or results in immigration cases.
In 2006, however, the defendants began operating California Immigration Services and engaging in the conduct alleged in the indictment.
Federal officials believe there are additional victims in this case who have not yet been identified.
The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs has a toll-free number that victims can call to get information or seek assistance: 1-800-593-8222.