Beware of Fake Immigration Attorneys!

By Brad Bernstein
President/New York Immigration Attorney
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
http://www.4immigration.com/

A few weeks ago, a story in the New York Law Journal immediately grabbed my attention – by the neck, in fact.

It was right there smack in the upper left-hand corner, with the stark headline: Fake Immigration Attorney Gets 6-Month Jail Sentence.

I mean, how could I not stop everything I was doing and read it?

It was a srodid tale about a man named Victor M. Espinal, who had the unprecedented brazenness, the utter chutzpah, to pose as something he wasn’t for nearly 20 years – an immigration attorney.

No, he didn’t call himself a “notario” or an “immigration agent” or an “immigration consultant.” No, he didn’t bother with those pseudo words. He went for the whole shebang, passing himself off as someone who actually went to law school, passed the bar, and was licensed.

The fact is, he couldn’t rightfully claim ANY of those things.

Still, undeterred by the lack of these mere formalities, he allegedly carried business cards identifying himself as an attorney with the “Immigrant Affairs Office” of the “N.Y. Legal Defense Unit,” licensed to practice in California and the Dominican Republic.

According to the Law Journal story, the Manhattan district attorney’s office began investigating Espinal after several of his clients got wise and alerted the Immigrant Affairs Program Hotline.

Espinal was subsequently arrested in January 2010 and on July 11, after pleading guilty to third-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery, first-degree scheme to defraud, and one count of practicing as an attorney without being admitted and registered, he was sentenced to six months in jail, five years of probation, and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution.

If you ask me, it’s not enough.

Fake immigration attorneys can ruin people’s lives, turn lives upside down and into living hells.

The cruel reality is, any person can hang up a sign and say they’re an immigration consultant. There are no licensing requirements, no background checks.

Is it legal? No, absolutely not. But people are dong it.

So, it’s up to YOU to be cautious.

These charlatans may even have fancy offices, impressive-looking diplomas on the wall, be dressed in high-priced designer suits, may even seem like they know what they’re doing.

But they are only playing a high-stakes game that will separate you from your money – and without you get anything in return.

If you want to flush out the real thing from the frauds, make sure to ask these questions:

What law school did you go to?

Where and when did you pass the bar exam?

Once you get those answers, they’ll be easy to verify online or by making a call to the local licensing office.

Another way: If the so-called attorney has you sign a G28 when you submit your application to the immigration service and it’s recognized by the immigration service, a returned receipt from the immigration service will be sent to you, notifying that a copy went to you and your attorney. Then you know you’re being represented by a true lawyer.

On the other hand, the phoney with either not have you sign a G28, or if he/she does have you sign it, he/she won’t submit it, or he/she submits it but it’s not recognized.

So be smart.

Be careful.

And be on the lookout for those slimy fakes out there!

The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com