Boulder Daily Camera reported that: Illegal immigrants, viewed by many as criminals, are themselves vulnerable to wage theft, money-for-documents scams, extortion and predatory lending.
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office is making it a priority to prosecute such crimes whenever possible.
"Nobody is more vulnerable than someone who has questionable immigration status," Garnett said. "They're afraid of the police, and they don't know the system. There's a perception that these people are fair game, but they're not fair game while I'm DA."
This year, the District Attorney's Office brought extortion charges against a Boulder woman who allegedly threatened an immigrant couple with deportation if they didn't pay for car repairs after a fender-bender. Abigail Suber, 29, entered an Alford plea on Friday, under which she acknowledged there is enough evidence to convict her but asserted her innocence.
Prosecutors also have brought theft charges against a former employee of Safehouse domestic violence shelter after clients reported they gave her money for visas they never received and against another woman who claimed to work for the Department of Motor Vehicles who collected $8,000 from eight women on the pretense that she would get them driver's licenses.
Jocelyn Vega-Arambula, the woman accused in the driver's license case, is scheduled to enter a plea Dec. 2. She's also charged with impersonating a public official.
Kadny Zayle, the former Safehouse employee, was formerly charged last week.
Garnett said he believes more cases are being reported since his office actively reached out to groups that work with immigrant communities, like El Comite de Longmont and El Centro Amistad in Boulder.
The focus is part of a broader effort to protect vulnerable populations, including the elderly and high school and college students, from fraud and theft. The former Consumer Division has been renamed the Community Protection Division to reflect that focus.
Deputy District Attorney Jane Walsh, who heads the division, said she's planning to do more outreach and education with the help of community groups. She works closely with the office's one bilingual victim advocate to make sure victims feel comfortable and know their rights.
She also can request U Visas for victims. The visas provide four years of legal status and work eligibility for the victims of certain crimes.
Nonetheless, prosecuting these cases remains challenging. Victims are hesitant to come forward, and juries can be unsympathetic to victims who don't have legal standing to be in the country.
El Centro Executive Director Jorge de Santiago and El Comite Executive Director Marta Moreno both said they appreciate Garnett taking a public stand and that they report any crimes they can.
De Santiago said he sees many cases in which illegal immigrants' desperation for documents leads them to give money to unscrupulous people. Often, the person taking advantage is Hispanic and trades on the trust that creates.
He recalled one case in which a well-dressed man who spoke Spanish went door to door presenting himself as an attorney and promising to get visas. One family pooled all its resources and borrowed money from neighbors to pay the man $2,000 to get them visas.
A month later, they hadn't heard from him, and the phone number on the card he had left them went unanswered.
"They came to me and asked me what they could do," de Santiago said. "I had to tell them, 'There's nothing you can do. That man stole your money.' It's sad. It's a learning experience for a lot of these families."
Staff from El Centro tried to find the man so the family could press charges, but he was long gone, probably, de Santiago said, going door to door in another immigrant neighborhood.
De Santiago told the family to become advocates and help their friends and neighbors not fall for the same scam.
De Santiago also hears about numerous cases of wage theft, in which contractors or homeowners refuse to pay laborers after the work is done. He's currently working with the DA's office on a case involving a landscaping company.
Moreno said she's trying to get Longmont to adopt a wage theft ordinance similar Boulder's ordinance and working with Longmont residents who did work in Boulder or for Boulder-based companies to pursue charges in Boulder.
"They work them, but they don't want to pay them," she said of employers who abuse immigrant laborers.
Legal immigrants, meanwhile, are vulnerable to identity theft because legitimate papers with Hispanic surnames are in high demand.
Moreno said she warns people against buying documents at flea markets and other black market locations.
"My education to the community is that those people are not trying to help you," she said. "They're trying to screw you and make money off of you. Sooner or later, if that's a stolen Social (Security number), it's going to come up."
Having worked on false or stolen papers also can have serious implications if someone tries to apply for legal residency later, Moreno said.
As with any kind of scam, it's always better to avoid being taken advantage of in the first place, advocates say.
Don't give anyone money without a signed contract, and beware of anything that sounds too good to be true.
"Anyone who says they can get you papers for $500, they're lying," de Santiago said.
Moreno, whose organization processes citizenship applications, said she's seen many cases in which lawyers or "notarios" -- notary publics -- have taken money from people and filed visa or citizenship applications for people that didn't have a chance of being eligible.
Experienced, ethical immigration attorneys will review documents and not take money from people who don't have a case, she said.
Both de Santiago and Moreno said immigrants should seek referrals through established community organizations.
That Zayle was working within such an organization makes her case, if the accusations are true, especially troubling, de Santiago said.
"The value of what Safehouse has provided is still there," de Santiago said. "But we all need to be transparent as organizations. I tell people, 'You need to ask any questions that you have.'"
Moreno said her organization has good relationships with some police officers, but too often, police see these situations as civil and don't want to get involved.
Moreno said police officers need to know where to refer people for help in the cases they can't take on themselves.
That the county's top prosecutor is taking a public stance helps, she said.
Garnett said he wants to hire more bilingual attorneys and staff, hold more meetings with community groups and do public service announcements in Spanish.
"When we get a case like this very serious case at Safehouse, we're going to put resources into it and go after it," he said.
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office is making it a priority to prosecute such crimes whenever possible.
"Nobody is more vulnerable than someone who has questionable immigration status," Garnett said. "They're afraid of the police, and they don't know the system. There's a perception that these people are fair game, but they're not fair game while I'm DA."
This year, the District Attorney's Office brought extortion charges against a Boulder woman who allegedly threatened an immigrant couple with deportation if they didn't pay for car repairs after a fender-bender. Abigail Suber, 29, entered an Alford plea on Friday, under which she acknowledged there is enough evidence to convict her but asserted her innocence.
Prosecutors also have brought theft charges against a former employee of Safehouse domestic violence shelter after clients reported they gave her money for visas they never received and against another woman who claimed to work for the Department of Motor Vehicles who collected $8,000 from eight women on the pretense that she would get them driver's licenses.
Jocelyn Vega-Arambula, the woman accused in the driver's license case, is scheduled to enter a plea Dec. 2. She's also charged with impersonating a public official.
Kadny Zayle, the former Safehouse employee, was formerly charged last week.
Garnett said he believes more cases are being reported since his office actively reached out to groups that work with immigrant communities, like El Comite de Longmont and El Centro Amistad in Boulder.
The focus is part of a broader effort to protect vulnerable populations, including the elderly and high school and college students, from fraud and theft. The former Consumer Division has been renamed the Community Protection Division to reflect that focus.
Deputy District Attorney Jane Walsh, who heads the division, said she's planning to do more outreach and education with the help of community groups. She works closely with the office's one bilingual victim advocate to make sure victims feel comfortable and know their rights.
She also can request U Visas for victims. The visas provide four years of legal status and work eligibility for the victims of certain crimes.
Nonetheless, prosecuting these cases remains challenging. Victims are hesitant to come forward, and juries can be unsympathetic to victims who don't have legal standing to be in the country.
El Centro Executive Director Jorge de Santiago and El Comite Executive Director Marta Moreno both said they appreciate Garnett taking a public stand and that they report any crimes they can.
De Santiago said he sees many cases in which illegal immigrants' desperation for documents leads them to give money to unscrupulous people. Often, the person taking advantage is Hispanic and trades on the trust that creates.
He recalled one case in which a well-dressed man who spoke Spanish went door to door presenting himself as an attorney and promising to get visas. One family pooled all its resources and borrowed money from neighbors to pay the man $2,000 to get them visas.
A month later, they hadn't heard from him, and the phone number on the card he had left them went unanswered.
"They came to me and asked me what they could do," de Santiago said. "I had to tell them, 'There's nothing you can do. That man stole your money.' It's sad. It's a learning experience for a lot of these families."
Staff from El Centro tried to find the man so the family could press charges, but he was long gone, probably, de Santiago said, going door to door in another immigrant neighborhood.
De Santiago told the family to become advocates and help their friends and neighbors not fall for the same scam.
De Santiago also hears about numerous cases of wage theft, in which contractors or homeowners refuse to pay laborers after the work is done. He's currently working with the DA's office on a case involving a landscaping company.
Moreno said she's trying to get Longmont to adopt a wage theft ordinance similar Boulder's ordinance and working with Longmont residents who did work in Boulder or for Boulder-based companies to pursue charges in Boulder.
"They work them, but they don't want to pay them," she said of employers who abuse immigrant laborers.
Legal immigrants, meanwhile, are vulnerable to identity theft because legitimate papers with Hispanic surnames are in high demand.
Moreno said she warns people against buying documents at flea markets and other black market locations.
"My education to the community is that those people are not trying to help you," she said. "They're trying to screw you and make money off of you. Sooner or later, if that's a stolen Social (Security number), it's going to come up."
Having worked on false or stolen papers also can have serious implications if someone tries to apply for legal residency later, Moreno said.
As with any kind of scam, it's always better to avoid being taken advantage of in the first place, advocates say.
Don't give anyone money without a signed contract, and beware of anything that sounds too good to be true.
"Anyone who says they can get you papers for $500, they're lying," de Santiago said.
Moreno, whose organization processes citizenship applications, said she's seen many cases in which lawyers or "notarios" -- notary publics -- have taken money from people and filed visa or citizenship applications for people that didn't have a chance of being eligible.
Experienced, ethical immigration attorneys will review documents and not take money from people who don't have a case, she said.
Both de Santiago and Moreno said immigrants should seek referrals through established community organizations.
That Zayle was working within such an organization makes her case, if the accusations are true, especially troubling, de Santiago said.
"The value of what Safehouse has provided is still there," de Santiago said. "But we all need to be transparent as organizations. I tell people, 'You need to ask any questions that you have.'"
Moreno said her organization has good relationships with some police officers, but too often, police see these situations as civil and don't want to get involved.
Moreno said police officers need to know where to refer people for help in the cases they can't take on themselves.
That the county's top prosecutor is taking a public stance helps, she said.
Garnett said he wants to hire more bilingual attorneys and staff, hold more meetings with community groups and do public service announcements in Spanish.
"When we get a case like this very serious case at Safehouse, we're going to put resources into it and go after it," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment