NEW YORK (AP) — A former operator of a New York-based
immigration law firm has been extradited to the United States from Canada to
face charges he led a massive immigration fraud ring that processed thousands
of false immigration applications, earning millions of dollars in fees,
authorities said Wednesday.
Earl Seth David, 47, was brought to New York on Tuesday to
face charges including conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, conspiracy to
make false statements to immigration authorities and conspiracy to commit money
laundering. He was arrested in Canada on Oct. 11.
Federal prosecutors said David's firm made millions of
dollars by charging high fees to illegal immigrants to fraudulently get them
legal immigration status before he fled to Canada in 2006. His law firm closed
in 2009.
"When he fled to Canada to avoid prosecution, Earl Seth
David left thousands of victims of his alleged fraud in his wake — people who
believed he was helping them secure legal status and paid him a lot of money to
do so," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
Avi Moskowitz, a lawyer for David, declined to comment. His
client was held without bail after an initial court appearance.
Prosecutors said David, a dual citizen of Canada and the
United States, arranged for his law firm to submit at least 20,000 false
immigration applications from 1996 until early 2009.
They said he charged exorbitant fees of up to $30,000 per
application to submit false claims that U.S. employers had
"sponsored" the illegal immigrants for employment.
Illegal immigrants can petition under U.S. law for legal
status if the U.S. Department of Labor has certified that a U.S. employer
wishes to employ or "sponsor" them. The immigrant can then use that
sponsorship to petition the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to obtain
legal status in the United States.
Prosecutors said David's firm fabricated documents,
including fake pay stubs, fake tax returns and fake "experience
letters," to show that the sponsorships were real.
They said the sponsors had no intention of hiring the
illegal immigrants, and the sponsor companies often did not exist other than as
shell companies for use in the fraudulent scheme.
Copyright 2012 The
Associated Press.