Jephte Bernard, the 70-year-old owner of Jay’s Immigration Consulting Practice, LLC, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for his role in a massive and decades-long immigration fraud scheme.
Bernard, of Margate, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz on May 31, after previously pleading guilty to mail fraud and making false statements.
According to court records, Bernard’s scheme involved the fraudulent submission of asylum claims to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from his offices in Sunrise, Orange Park, and Bradenton, Florida.
Bernard targeted Spanish-speaking immigrants from Central and South America, as well as Haitian-creole speaking immigrants, by fraudulently representing himself as an attorney licensed to practice law in the United States.
He advertised his services and expertise through the use of business cards, print media, storefront decals, and word of mouth, and gave false, inaccurate, and incomplete legal and immigration advice to client-victims in order to induce them to retain his services.
As a result of this fraudulent immigration scheme, Bernard defrauded over 1,000 vulnerable victims, and in the process, earned more than $3.9 million dollars in fraudulent proceeds.
Bernard was also ordered to forfeit $3,932,460.00 in illegally obtained proceeds and to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from custody.
The case was investigated by HSI Fort Lauderdale and USCIS Miami Asylum Office Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Division, and Miami Asylum Director Varsenik Papazian for USCIS announced the sentences imposed by Judge Ruiz.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-60195.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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