PHILADELPHIA – Fatima DeMaria, the owner of Immigration Matters Legal Services in Oxford, Pa., has been indicted for orchestrating a years-long immigration fraud scheme. The 65-year-old woman is accused of eight counts of asylum fraud and eight counts of mail fraud.
DeMaria, who posed as an immigration attorney, allegedly misrepresented herself to clients, falsely claiming she could assist undocumented aliens in obtaining work permits. She prepared fraudulent Form I-589 asylum applications without her clients’ knowledge or consent, misrepresenting their reasons for seeking asylum.
The indictment claims that DeMaria charged clients up to $15,000 per couple for her ‘services,’ frequently receiving payments in cash or through personal bank accounts linked to casinos. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 240 years in prison and a fine of $4 million.
Investigators are now seeking additional victims of DeMaria’s scheme, urging anyone with information to contact the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Solow and Eileen Castilla Geiger.
The charges against DeMaria are accusations, and she is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. The investigation is ongoing, involving the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and multiple federal agencies.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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