Immigration Scam Involves Purported Yale Law Professor

Dave Altimari of the Harford Courant reports on an immigration scam:

Ralph Cucciniello has claimed to be several things in what authorities call a long history as a scam artist – a television producer, a psychologist, even a nursing home operator.

But investigators say it took a phony affiliation with Yale for Cucciniello to really hit pay dirt. Posing as a law professor with an expertise in immigration law, they say, Cucciniello has scammed hundreds of undocumented workers from Ireland into thinking he could secure them a green card – for a $5,000 fee.

Law enforcement officials in New York and Connecticut are scrambling to find all his victims and answer a nagging question: How did a scam artist who once was in the federal witness protection program secure office space in one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, as well as a school identification card and e-mail address?

“The word went out in the Irish community all across the country that there was this attorney at the Yale Law School who had found a loophole in the immigration laws and could get you a green card quickly,” said Inspector Timothy Reardon of the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office. Reardon opened an investigation into Cucciniello a few weeks ago when New York City police arrested Cucciniello on charges of grand larceny and impersonating an attorney. Click here for the full story.

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