California State Bar hosts immigration fraud summit
The California State Bar is attempting to address a national problem with the exploitation of undocumented immigrants by unscrupulous businesses offering immigration advice.
Undocumented immigrants are not only more vulnerable to fraud than most, but they’re also less likely to come forward to report when they’ve been victimized. “They just don’t want to become part of any system,” said Rigo Reyes, chief of investigations at the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs. That’s why it’s important for state and federal agencies to focus on prevention efforts in addition to enforcement. “If we can try to prevent harm in the first place, I think we’ve done our job in a more effective way,” he said, speaking at an interagency summit hosted by the State Bar of California’s Office of the Chief Trial Counsel last month.
The summit brought together more than 80 people and featured representatives from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, National Asian American Coalition, Los Angeles Police Department, the California Attorney General’s Office, National Council of La Raza and legal nonprofits. Participants said it was an opportunity for them to share what they have learned about the best ways to fight fraud and connect with consumers. Such partnerships also help the agencies coordinate their enforcement actions, they said.
The issue is timely, with the possibility of a new deferred action program on the horizon (although on hold for now). There are scammers who are taking advantage of immigrants by taking money in exchange for fake promises of help, the panelists said. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Santa Clara last month announced new efforts to crack down on immigration fraud and warn consumers of scams.
The State Bar has issued a warning about possible notario fraud. California law prohibits the use of the term “notario” by non-attorneys because scammers have used the term to gain credibility with Spanish-speaking immigrants. The bar has an immigration hotline (866-879-4532) for consumers to ask questions or report fraud by lawyers or non-lawyers.
KJ