Fake immigration lawyer cashed in, put clients at risk of deportation, feds say
Fatima DeMaria, the 65-year-old owner of Immigration Matters Legal Services in Oxford, was arrested and charged with eight counts of asylum fraud and eight counts of mail fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a July 31 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to the woman's attorney but did not immediately receive a response.
DeMaria is accused of filling out asylum applications for her clients, form I-589, but falsely claiming why they were seeking asylum in the U.S., prosecutors said. She did so between 2021 and 2024, prosecutors said. The form is meant for those who are in the United States but who are not citizens, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
She stated applicants were seeking to stay in the country due to 'political opinion' and 'Torture Convention,' federal officials said. However, this was not the reason her clients were seeking permission to stay in the U.S..
DeMaria did not tell her clients she was filing 'frivolous' forms as a way to help them obtain work permits, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, but had them sign the documents.
If those applications were denied, her clients could face deportation proceedings and the 'baseless asylum application' could jeopardize those people if they ever needed immigration benefits in the future, prosecutors said.
She charged thousands for the immigration tasks she was not licensed to do, charging between up to $9,000 per individual or up to $15,000 per couple, federal officials said. Prosecutors say they believe she made up to $1 million fraudulently.
DeMaria often asked her clients to pay her in cash or in transactions that were deposited into her personal bank accounts, officials said. 'Hundreds of thousands of dollars' were eventually withdrawn at casinos, prosecutors said.
If convicted, DeMaria faces up to 240 years in prison and a $4 million fine. The FBI in Philadelphia is looking to identify any victims of DeMaria/s through this form /vailable/in English and Spanish.
Oxford is about a 55-mile drive southwest from Philadelphia.
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