Bribing the Wrong Person

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) publishes an annual report titled, FY 2013 ICE Immigration Removals, which details statistics on the identification and removal of criminal undocumented immigrants. The report states that during 2013, ICE conducted a total of 368,644 removals of which 59 percent, or 216,810, had been previously convicted of a crime. (That’s a scary statistic.) FoxBaltimore.com reports on a story about a Maryland immigration attorney, who attempted to help a foreign national obtain illegal immigration documents for a sum of $50,000. Unfortunately, for the foreign national, the immigration bribed the wrong person.

The 59-year-old attorney, who operated his own law firm in Windsor Hills, charged his client $170,000 in cash to bribe a “public official,” who actually turned out to be an undercover immigration agent. (Supposedly, the “public official” was willing to provide immigration documents.) The lawyer’s “take” for the scheme was to be $50,000. The immigration lawyer also had previously offered to pay the same “public official” another $5,000 to have a different foreign national removed from the U.S.

The fraudster was caught, and he pleaded guilty to bribery. He faces a 15-year sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Immigrants desiring lawful entry into the U.S. need a good Immigration lawyer, preferably one that can provide sound legal counsel. Unfortunately, this immigrant picked the wrong guy – one that resorted to bribery, so he could skim some money off the top for personal use. Also, apart from being a fraudster, this lawyer’s actions could have threatened national security. Fortunately, the undercover agent caught him red-handed and the integrity of the legal processes set up to enable the lawful entry into America and ensure our security, was maintained in this case.

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