MANHATTAN (CN) - A former acting justice of New York State Supreme Court and a paralegal were convicted of immigration fraud and conspiracy for an "immigration fraud mill" they ran out of the attorney's office, federal prosecutors said. Attorney Salvador Collazo, 62, filed "hundreds of fraudulent applications" for immigration relief, with help from his paralegal, Dalia Preldakaj.
County courts in New York State are called Supreme Court. Collazo, a Bronx attorney, was a forming acting justice in New York County. He and his paralegal were convicted by a federal jury after a 14-day trial.
Collazo faces up to 10 years in prison for immigration application fraud, and up to 5 years for conspiracy and making false statements.
Preldakaj faces 20 years for money laundering, 20 years for witness tampering, and shorter terms for the immigration charges.
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