State authorities this week took legal action against a Chula Vista businessman, accusing him of improperly offering legal services to undocumented immigrants, allegedly taking thousands of dollars from them in the process.
It’s one allegation in what experts say is a larger minefield of bad services and scams that prey on people hoping to gain legal status. Instead of helping people navigate the dauntingly complex immigration system, experts say scammers can bilk migrants for money with poor aid or even under fake identities, leaving them without their cash and sometimes with little recourse.
According to the petition filed by the State Bar of California, Gabriel Luna de la Fuente charged multiple migrants for work that included legal advice and assembling and filing paperwork with immigration officials. That, investigators say, amounted to giving legal advice without a law license.
The investigation was prompted in part by a complaint filed with the state bar by a client. A woman who approached de la Fuente’s firm, Superior Immigration Services, said de la Fuent charged her thousands of dollars while failing to file the promised paperwork to amend her daughter’s immigration status.
De la Fuente “provided Reyes with his banking information and instructed Reyes to go to a nearby Wells Fargo bank and deposit $1,700 in his bank account, which he said was for the fees for her immigration forms and for her required medical exam,” the State Bar wrote. She also sent him $495 for her daughter’s paperwork, which she says was never submitted.
“It made me feel a certain way because it took effort to put that money together,” Reyes said in her complaint.
In a San Diego County Superior Court court filing, a bar investigator described social media posts by Superior Immigration Services inviting clients to call or visit the office to speak to the “licenciados,” a Spanish term the filing says is commonly used to refer to licensed attorneys.
Under state law, only licensed lawyers, or individuals supervised by licensed lawyers, are permitted to give legal advice, like choosing which type of visa a migrant should apply for or which form they should file with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The Bar investigator determined de la Fuente was not operating under the supervision of any lawyer.
According to an email exchange with the Bar investigator that is included in the court filings, de la Fuente said he worked as an immigration consultant with the necessary bond under state law. “I never represent myself as an attorney,” he wrote in the email.
State law does allow businesses to operate as immigration consultants, providing “nonlegal” advice or assistance in preparing documents. A local nonprofit, the Immigrant Rights Defense Council, has filed at least 11 injunction requests this year, asking courts to shut down immigration consulting businesses in the San Diego area that the council claims are violating the Immigration Consultant Act by offering legal advice, failing to obtain a business bond or other violations.
The Bar, too, has sent warnings to other immigration firms against offering legal services. The case against de la Fuente, though, led to a court petition asking a judge to allow the state Bar to take over the man’s business and his files, removing his control over clients’ cases.
In de la Fuente’s case, some clients say they were able to successfully change their immigration statuses with his help, while others claim they lost thousands of dollars.
A man who answered the telephone at Superior Immigration Services on Thursday evening said Gabriel Luna de la Fuente was not there at the time, but expressed shock at the news of the legal filing. “I had no idea this was happening,” the man said.
The State Bar says this type of case is just the tip of the iceberg of scams targeting people who are navigating the maze of the immigration system. As immigration arrest numbers rise in California and nationwide, opportunities to profit off of people overwhelmed by an ICE detention or an immigration court case will only escalate.
Scammers impersonate lawyers
De La Fuente never technically claimed to be a licensed attorney, even though he was offering legal services. Agustín Hernández, supervising attorney at the State Bar of California, says scams often go much further, and a scammer will steal the name and Bar number of an existing lawyer or make up a fake name for a law firm.
Immigration advocates in Stockton recounted similar tales, describing how families in the area hired lawyers from a firm with a website that appeared legitimate. But upon closer examination, the address for the law firm did not exist. After word spread that the firm was not real, the website disappeared, but the scammers had already stolen thousands of dollars.
Hernández said any real attorney should have their office address and phone number listed on their profile on the state Bar website. If a lawyer approaches you and the address or phone number doesn’t match their profile, it’s a “red flag.”
Expert advice
What to consider if you’re seeking help with an immigration case.
- Before hiring any immigration lawyer, check to make sure their phone number and address match those listed on their profile page on the state Bar website.
- Do not wire money to anyone for immigration law services who is not a credentialed lawyer.
- Do not trust anyone who promises to release your loved one from ICE detention if you pay them.
- Do not trust anyone who demands payment in cash or a specific method of payment. Real, credentialed lawyers will accept various forms of payment.
Criminal organizations use stolen information to elicit trust
After her husband was detained by ICE, a woman in Santa Maria confided in her coworker, who gave her a phone number passed through Whatsapp groups. If she called the number, maybe that person could help. The man on the phone said he was a representative of a group working with ICE. If she sent him $6,000, he could get her husband released from the detention center.
The woman from Santa Maria was skeptical, but the man urged her to trust him. He asked for her husband’s name, and quickly was able to confirm his birth date, the pueblo in Mexico where he was born, and the number on his birth certificate.
“All of the information was correct, so I believed him. He convinced me. I was desperate and I fell into his trap,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified because she is undocumented.
The woman from Santa Maria wired the first $3,000 from her bank to the account number he sent her. Then, the man changed his offer. He would not be able to coordinate her husband’s release from ICE detention, but once her husband was deported, the man would use the money to help him get back across the border. When the woman protested, the scammer disappeared. She lost the majority of her family’s savings.
Agustin González said he expects to see even more scams come to light as the escalation in immigration enforcement continues, and they may become more elaborate.
“We’ve seen a fake videoconference with a fake courtroom and a judge in a gown,” González said. “At that point, how do you protect yourself?”
