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Brooklyn Attorneys Sentenced for Asylum Fraud Scheme
Ilona Dzhamgarova, 46, and Arthur Arcadian, 44, both of Brooklyn, New York, were sentenced to prison for their roles in an immigration fraud conspiracy.
On March 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil sentenced Dzhamgarova to two years in prison and Arcadian to six months in prison for their involvement in the scheme.
According to the indictment, Dzhamgarova, an immigration attorney, ran the Dzhamgarova Firm, an immigration services firm based in Brooklyn, from November 2018 to December 2021. The firm worked with clients seeking visas, asylum, citizenship, and other forms of legal status in the United States.
The scheme involved advising clients on how to obtain asylum in the United States, fully understanding that those clients did not legitimately qualify for asylum. The firm prepared and submitted to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clients’ fraudulent Form I-589 asylum applications, asylum affidavits, and related supporting documentation.
The indictment also alleges that Dzhamgarova advised clients to seek asylum by falsely claiming that they were members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community who suffered persecution in their native countries. Dzhamgarova and Arcadian prepared and submitted clients’ fraudulent asylum applications and affidavits to USCIS, under penalty of perjury, fully understanding that these documents at times contained material falsehoods.
The indictment further alleges that the Dzhamgarova Firm employed writers who knowingly concocted and drafted clients’ fraudulent asylum affidavits. These affidavits conveyed narrations of clients’ personal histories that were filled with falsehoods, including events and incidents of alleged persecution that were fabricated by the writers.
On January 25, 2023, Dzhamgarova and Arcadian previously pled guilty to immigration fraud conspiracy before Judge Vyskocil.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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