Alexander Smirnoff, Fake Immigration Attorney, Busted in $8K Visa Scam

LOS ANGELES — Alexander Smirnoff, 48, a self-styled immigration attorney also known as “Alex Scott,” was arrested alongside two female accomplices in a sprawling immigration fraud scheme that preyed on desperate foreign nationals seeking legal status in the U.S. Smirnoff and his so-called “legal assistants,” Ekaterina Vladimirovna Zamurueva, 28, and Anna Kirillovna Solodovnikova, 29, were taken into custody at their shared residence in Corona by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) last week.

The trio has been indicted on 16 federal counts, including conspiracy, visa fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and identification fraud. The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury on August 16 and unsealed after the arrests, paints a picture of a well-oiled scam operation run out of a residential home posing as a legal consulting firm called ABC Flex. For fees as high as $8,000, the defendants allegedly sold fake employment visas and forged immigration documents to clients who believed they were securing lawful status.

At Friday’s arraignment in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson ordered Smirnoff released on a $50,000 appearance bond with electronic monitoring and home confinement, while Zamurueva and Solodovnikova were held without bail. Trial is set for December 13. Prosecutors argue the women pose a flight risk and are integral to the alleged scheme’s operations.

Court records show the defendants provided clients with counterfeit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) letters and falsified I-94 Arrival/Departure Records—documents bearing the Department of Homeland Security seal and official-looking USCIS letterhead. Many victims, originally in the U.S. on student visas, only discovered the fraud when confronted by immigration authorities for overstaying. One woman, returning from teaching English in Nepal, was denied re-entry and found herself stranded—after Smirnoff and his team initially promised to fix the issue, then vanished.

Investigators also uncovered that the defendants distributed Social Security numbers that were either stolen or entirely fabricated. These phony numbers were presented as valid, further embedding the victims in legal jeopardy. The scam didn’t just steal money—it endangered lives, leaving immigrants vulnerable to deportation and criminal charges of their own due to documents they believed were legitimate.

“The indictment charges the defendants with victimizing both the United States and dozens of immigrants who thought they were properly obtaining authorization to remain in the United States legally,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. Edward Owens, acting special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles, added: “HSI will move aggressively to target those who hold themselves out as legitimate immigration attorneys and greedily exploit their clients’ trust.” The case is a stark warning: in the shadows of America’s immigration system, predators like Smirnoff thrive on desperation.