Disbarment Sought For Immigration-Related Crimes
A former senior immigration official has sought consent disbarment in Illinois in the wake of his criminal conviction.
From the motion
Starting on June 7, 1998, Movant was employed as Assistant Chief Counsel by the Office of Chief Counsel, which was a department of the Office of Principal Legal Advisor, within the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). As Assistant Chief Counsel, Movant was responsible for arguing on behalf of the government in civil administrative deportation removal hearings and providing legal advice to the other components of ICE.
Between October, 2004 and June, 2008, Movant and Maria Gabriela Kallas, his wife, utilized a recruiter who sought out undocumented aliens and legal permanent residents and who told the prospective clients that Movant was a high-level immigration official who could help them obtain work authorization permits and permanent residency status in exchange for a fee. After the recruiter collected the required fee and documents, the recruiter delivered the fee and documents to Movant and Movant’s wife. Movant and his wife utilized two shell corporations to submit false information to the United States Custom and Immigration Service and the United States Department of Labor claiming that at least 45 undocumented aliens were being hired to occupy skilled labor positions in one of the shell companies. Movant also filed false documents for at least two permanent residents.
Movant and his wife charged each alien between $10,000 and $20,000 for submitting the false documentation. Movant and his wife collected amounts totaling at least $950,000 through their immigration scheme.
And then
after a jury trial, Movant was found guilty of 36 counts of the second superseding indictment. Movant was found guilty of conspiracy, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; bribery, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 201(b)(2); obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1505.2(a); fraud and misuse of entry documents, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1546(a), 2(a), and 2(b); false statements, in violation of Title 18 United State Code, Section 1001, 2(a) and 2(b); false statement and fraud to obtain federal employees’ compensation, in violation of United States Code, Section 1920; and tax evasion, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done, in violation of Title 26 United States Code, Section 7201, 18 United States Code 2(a) and 2(b).
He was sentenced to 212 months in prison. (Mike Frisch)