Two immigration law firms
Washington (AP) - Two immigration law firms, two lawyers and their legal assistants have been charged with helping clients forge documents for their green cards.
The clients paid up to $22,000 in fees for the forged documents, said Special Agent-in-Charge Cynthia O'Connell, who leads Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in Baltimore.
The indictment charges the Law Offices of I. Jay Fredman in Washington, Irwin Jay Fredman, 72, of Bethesda, and his legal assistant Elnur Veliev, 21, of Silver Spring. It also charges Sergei Danilov and Associates in Washington, Sergei Danilov, 44, of McLean, Va., and his legal assistant Alp Canseven, 30, of Washington. Fredman, Veliev and Danilov were arrested Thursday.
A federal grand jury returned the 149-count indictment last month and it was unsealed Thursday.
They gave false work histories for the applicants and in some cases forged the signatures of business owners, O'Connell said. They gave names of Maryland businesses, real and fictitious, as sponsors for their clients and gave the names of businesses that were sponsoring other immigrants, she said.
"You'd think that they would be interested in the integrity of system," O'Connell said. "They're taking advantage of that."
Investigators are aware of more than 170 fraudulent applications, she said. It appears that most clients knew they were getting forged documents, O'Connell said.
The clients who are working with investigators won't be deported, O'Connell said. Unless they have other ties to the United States, other clients will have to be go before a judge to see if they can stay in the country, she said.
Danilov, a Russian national, and Veliev, an Azerbaijan national, are permanent U.S. residents, but could be deported if convicted. Fredman and Canseven are citizens.
They face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
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Originally Posted by Leon93
