Salt Lake City Law Firm Indicted on Immigration Fraud

A federal grand jury indicted a Salt Lake City law firm on immigration fraud in the largest fraud case of its kind in Utah history. The unsealed indictment alleged that the firm allowed thousands of false visas for workers at Utah companies from July 2005 to June 2009.

An investigation that started 18 months ago finally came to a head when officials arrested Attorney James H. Alcala, two of his partners, and five employees of Alcala Law Firm. PC. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security acted on a tip about the law firm in February 2008 and now believe that the Alcala Law Firm filed more than 700 petitions that led to the issuance of more than 5,000 work visas.

The law firm is accused with creating the false paperwork so companies could get visas for immigrant laborers, according to U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman. Two unidentified companies are still being investigated as details are uncovered about how the visas were obtained. The status of those who received visas is also not known, although authorities think they must still be in the country.

Some of the illegal visas allowed foreigners to enter the country without taking a job. Others were working as painters, roofers and landscaping crews when their employers obtained the visas for them. Companies may not have known that the visas they received were bad, although some may have been aware that information was being fabricated. Some employees were flown to Mexico with paperwork to make it seem as though they had never entered the U.S., the indictment states.

Other indicted employees included former Border Patrol officer Carlos “Chuck” Manuel Vorher and Andres Lorenzo Acosta Parra. Vorher was a paralegal for the law firm, while Para served as a visa officer at a U.S. consulate in Mexico. Both employees used their inside knowledge to carry out the crime, the New York Times reported.

Only 66,000 visas are available each year for employers who are able to prove that they can’t find any suitable U.S. citizens for the job, according to the State Department. According to prosecutors. Alcala Law Firm had in their possession more visas than its clients could use. Alcala and his employees face up to 10 years in prison and fines of 250,000 if they are found guilty.

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