Fake Courts, Fake Judges: Asylum Seekers Tell of Scams Meant to Prey on Immigrant Fears

During a city council hearing, immigrants and their advocates shared stories of fraud, much of which is conducted over social media.

Christian, who did not give his last name for fear of being targeted by the federal government, told a New York City Council hearing Tuesday about how he was scammed by immigration fraudsters. (Screenshot from NY City Council hearing webcast)

During a New York City Council hearing about immigration services fraud on Tuesday, one asylum seeker testified about how he had been tricked by someone who claimed to be his attorney. 

“I was desperate to find someone to help me file for asylum,” said Christian through an English interpreter during a joint hearing of the council’s immigration and consumer and worker protection committees. (Christian, along with other immigrants who testified, provided only his first name to the council for fear of retaliation from federal government agencies.)

The person who had posed as his lawyer, he said, not only charged him money — a common practice among people who defraud immigrants — but also forged paperwork, like notices to appear, and even set up a fake court hearing through Google Meet.

“My attorney told me to dress formally for the virtual court hearing,” Christian said.

On the day of the virtual hearing, he said, a fake judge appeared, wearing a black robe. Fortunately for Christian, he did not log on alone: A law student who had previously been helping Christian with other matters accompanied him during the virtual hearing.

Christian said that by the end of the fake court hearing, the judge told him in Spanish that he’d have to pay just over $5,000 in the next eight days — or else the required payment would rise to $25,000. The law student flagged the scam to Legal Aid Society lawyers, who intervened and stopped it.

Christian was one of several migrants who testified about times they said they’d been victimized by immigration fraud. This can include legal services-related scams by attorneys and non-attorneys, as well as translators or providers of other services like public notaries posing as legal experts, who exploit the fact that lawyers often run notary services in many Spanish-speaking countries. 

“Over the past year, complaints of immigration services fraud in New York have increased, and advocates have consistently been ringing the alarm on these growing threats,” said Councilmember Alexa Avilés, chair of the council’s Committee on Immigration. “Oftentimes, immigration services fraud becomes more rampant in periods where demand for legal services increases.”

Councilmembers Shahna Hanif and Julie Won have each introduced legislation to address immigration fraud. Hanif’s bill, Intro 205, would educate the public about fraudulent schemes perpetrated by providers of immigration legal services; Won’s, Intro 980, would increase penalties for first and subsequent violations. 

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which handles civil fraud cases in the city, said complaints submitted about immigration service providers have increased over the past three years, with 23 complaints in 2022, 36 in 2023, and 46 in 2024.

During the council hearing, DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga said the department has “stepped up” investigations against employment agencies and immigration service providers.

DCWP said it recently completed a sweep of nearly 500 businesses advertising immigration or related services and issued more than 60 summonses.

“We look at what’s happening right now, and we know that ever since the change in administration in Washington, this is an area where we should focus on,” Mayuga said. 

Since January, the department explained, DCWP has received eight complaints, with most cases involving unauthorized practitioners.

DCWP conducts field inspections in response to complaints, and investigations can lead to summonses before the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Officials at DCWP acknowledge that prosecuting fraudulent immigration service providers and employment agencies remains an ongoing challenge. 

“Due to their fly-by-night nature, many operate out of temporary storefronts, residences, instant messaging apps or online platforms, only to disappear after being paid by a consumer,” Mayuga explained.

In Christian’s case, he found someone posing as a lawyer on Facebook. She told him through WhatsApp messages that she could help with his case for $1,750, which he paid.

Later on, he received what he later determined was a fake receipt notice, with an official-looking seal. 

The fake receipt had “some grammatical errors,” explained Deborah Lee, attorney-in-charge at the Legal Aid Society’s immigration law unit. Moreover, she said, “they had forgotten to translate parts into English.”

Still, it looked official enough to fool many asylum seekers, said Lee, who has been handling the case since the law student flagged it. “At first blush, especially if you’re not a native English speaker or reader, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to pick it up,” she said.

Lee said this was the first time they’d seen these types of fabricated court hearings, while DCWP acknowledged they haven’t received complaints that detail fake immigration hearings in the past.

“We haven’t seen something to this extent before,” Lee said.

During the oversight hearing, advocates noted that because many of these scams are taking place on social networks, they’re more difficult for city officials to punish, because there are no brick-and-mortar locations to inspect.

Lee and other advocates warned that scammers are also creating what appear to be either fraudulent or alternative immigration-related sites. Some, Lee explained, look like an immigration court site, while others look similar to a USCIS application tracker, “but it’s just a private site.” 

Asked by Avilés about its investigation of scams conducted over social media, Mayuga responded that DCWP relies on complainants to confirm the information they provide and help identify the person behind the account.

Other DCWP officials acknowledged that social media only exacerbates the fly-by-night aspect of this problem and stressed the importance of preventative measures such as education. Mayuga said the department is running a digital education campaign across social media platforms to educate New Yorkers about protections related to immigration service providers. Over the past three years, DCWP has coordinated a citywide day of action and has held 600 immigrant-focused outreach events.

Advocates and city officials each recognized immigrant communities’ hesitancy to file complaints due to fear of government interaction and reminded people that third parties, such as family members, friends, people from community organizations can submit them, anonymously if they prefer. Complaints can be filed by calling 311, at nyc.gov/Consumers or with the New York Attorney General’s Office at ag.ny.gov/file-complaint or by calling 1-800-771-7755. (A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office explained that it can take civil action against individuals or businesses who commit large-scale fraud on immigrant communities.)

Won’s chief of staff, Nick Gulotta, testifying in his personal capacity as someone who’s worked on this issue for years, recommended a sort of “worst landlords watch list” approach to this issue, or the creation of a fraud database.

“That’s a great idea,” Avilés seconded. “I’d like to call it the ‘shame list.’”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact daniel@citylimits.org. 

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