MANHATTAN (CN) - A bogus law office in Chinatown preys on Chinese immigrants by promising get them expedited green cards and other documents, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said. The indictment of Da Bure Immigration Consultations and its two operators is the first time New York City's Immigration Assistance Services Law has been criminally enforced, the district attorney said.
Ton Hui "Kevin" You, 50, and Linda Xiao Ling Chen, 36, face charges of grand larceny, scheming to defraud and practicing law without a license. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
You and Chen claimed to be attorneys with "special connections" to the U.S. Embassy in China and immigration authorities, Morgenthau said. Neither You or Chen is a licensed attorney.
One victim says he paid them $4,840.
He claims You gave him a business card showing the scales of justice, and told him to go home and wait for a receipt from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, which never arrived. You refused to return the money, Morgenthau DA said.
Da Bure did not do any legitimate business; it only stole from immigrants, the district attorney.
"If they helped somebody legitimately, it was by accident," Morgenthau said in a statement.
The city's immigration assistance law was enacted in 2004. It law attempts to regulate businesses that promise to help immigrants obtain green cards or legal status.
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