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A Cuban resident in Miami-Dade, María de Lourdes Van-Caneghem, has been accused of posing as an immigration attorney and defrauding a woman who was seeking legal assistance after her husband was detained by immigration authorities, according to officials and local reports.
The case has resulted in new charges added to her recent history of fraud allegations, including another file in which she allegedly impersonated an immigration officer, reported Telemundo 51.
According to a statement from the Miami Police Department quoted by the media, the investigation into the alleged impersonation of a lawyer began following a complaint filed on July 25, 2025.
The victim said that a relative provided her with the contact information for Van-Caneghem, who allegedly claimed to be a lawyer.
According to the cited official version, Van-Caneghem allegedly requested $2,000 for immigration services, but ended up accepting $1,440 paid through two money orders.
Later, when the victim tried to obtain a receipt for the payment, they did not receive a response.
The police pointed out that the victim searched for information online and found a history of arrests for fraud associated with the name Van-Caneghem, which led to contacting the authorities.
The financial crimes unit later confirmed —according to the report— that the funds were collected, and detectives supported the case with records obtained through subpoena and surveillance video; additionally, the victim is said to have identified the suspect in a photo lineup.
The authorities indicated that, in this case, charges of organized scheme to defraud and third-degree grand theft were added.
On the morning of this Friday, Van-Caneghem remained in detention at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center; in records cited by Local 10, her bail was listed as "to be set."
The case adds to previous accusations. In September 2025, Local 10 reported that Van-Caneghem —identified at that time as a woman born in Cuba— faced accusations of posing as a corrupt immigration officer to defraud migrants in Miami-Dade.
Additionally, the reports mention a case from 2022 in which she was allegedly accused of stealing around 119,000 dollars from clients of a travel agency (“Hello Cuba Travel”) by selling non-existent flight tickets.
The outlet also indicated that court records show over a dozen fraud-related cases in Miami-Dade since 2019 and that, following a conviction for felony theft in a 2023 case, he received probation valid from 2024 to 2034.
The Miami Police Department urged anyone who believes they may have been affected by similar schemes to contact the authorities.
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