Badges - Houston Family Charged With Providing Unauthorized Legal Services
- From: CarlGlas@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 14:38:06 -0500
Houston Family Charged With Providing Unauthorized Legal Services
Operating an unlawful immigration consulting firm
August 24, 2011
HOUSTON - Texas Attorney Greg Abbott charged a Houston family with
operating an unlawful immigration consulting firm. According to the
State's enforcement action, the defendants defrauded their clients by
providing unauthorized legal advice, document preparation and other
services in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act
(DTPA) and the Texas Government Code.
The State's enforcement action, which was filed in Harris County,
sought and obtained a temporary restraining order against Yolanda
Salazar Perez; her consulting business, which operates under the
names New Anointing/Nueva Uncion and New Anointing Biblical
Institute; and against her husband Bruno Perez, and her daughters
Julie Cortez and Lucina Lopez.
According to court documents filed by the State, Salazar Perez
falsely told her customers that she was qualified to provide
immigration-related services, including counseling about U.S.
immigration law and preparing immigration documents- activities that
may constitute the practice of law. However, Salazar Perez is neither
an attorney nor accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals as
required by law.
State investigators revealed that Salazar Perez and her co-defendants
recruited their clients by appealing to their religious beliefs and
invoking her position as the director of the New Anointing Biblical
Institute/Church. Under the defendants' scheme, Salazar Perez agreed
to prepare immigration forms for immigrants who agreed to join her
church. Documents uncovered by the State revealed that Salazar Perez
attempted to falsely claim that new church members qualified for a
legal classification known as "special religious workers." According
to state investigators, the defendants enticed at least 300 customers
to join the New Anointing Biblical Institute/Church and thus agreed
to pay for the defendants' unauthorized legal services.
In February 2005, Attorney General Abbott took legal action against
Salazar Perez for similar unlawful immigration consulting services
violations. As in the present lawsuit, the State charged Salazar
Perez with providing unauthorized and misleading immigration services
in violation of the DTPA.
According to the 2005 legal action, Salazar Perez falsely told
clients she was a former employee of the then-Immigration and
Naturalization Service. She provided services in Harris County for at
least four years. In an effort to lend credibility to her unlawful
business, the defendant maintained that she was affiliated with the
churches in which she worked.
Salazar Perez operated under several names in 2005, including New
Anointing/Nueva Uncion, Perez Immigration and Tax Service, and
Greater Houston Family Outreach. At the time, she charged clients
initial fees of $300-$400 per person for help with immigration visas,
permanent residency, and work or travel permits for themselves or
their relatives. Victims soon found that they were subject to removal
from the United States due to errors in the submission of the forms
or because they were ineligible for permanent residence. Many of her
clients also lost hundreds of dollars in immigration filing fees.
In 2006, Salazar Perez entered into an agreed final judgment and
permanent injunction with the Attorney General's Office. However,
investigators with the Attorney General's Office discovered that she
had resumed her unlawful immigration consulting business in violation
of the court's order.
The Attorney General's enforcement action today seeks civil penalties
of up to $20,000 for each DTPA violation.
Since assuming office in 2002, Attorney General Abbott has shut down
more than 60 businesses for providing unauthorized legal services.
Former or current clients of an unauthorized legal services scam
should file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office at (800)
252-8011 or online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.
The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997
Other related posts:
- » Badges - Houston Family Charged With Providing Unauthorized Legal Services - CarlGlas
