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Sophisticated criminal networks exploit the fear of mass deportations to defraud immigrants in the United States, charging them thousands of dollars for false immigration services that are never provided.
The television network Telemundo documented the cases of six immigrants in five states (New York, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, and Washington) who lost between $1,300 and $11,000 to scammers impersonating law firms, staging virtual immigration hearings, and stealing the identities of real lawyers to lend credibility to their schemes.
The most detailed case is that of Odalys González Silvera, a 61-year-old Venezuelan resident of the Bronx, who lost $5,488 after reaching out through Facebook to an account that pretended to be the law firm "Berman & Associates".
Her brother Jaiker was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Arizona in April 2025, despite having Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Desperate, González Silvera sought legal help on social media and fell into a trap.
The scammers, who used the name of the actual lawyer Enrique De Jesús Duarte, promised to release his brother "within a maximum of 15 days" and charged him via Zelle in four installments: $870 for taking the case, $1,230 for filling out a form, $2,427 for a supposed bond, and $961 for travel expenses of a lawyer who never visited the detainee.
This method recalls another case in which a network set up a fake virtual immigration court with actors to deceive its victims.
This type of fraud is not limited to social media. In other documented cases, criminals broke into the homes of Hispanic immigrants in Miami, posing as federal agents to rob and intimidate their victims.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2024 alone there were 2.6 million reports of digital fraud, with losses exceeding 12.5 billion dollars.
In that same vein, impersonation scams involving federal agents totaled 1,579 reported cases solely in South Florida.
"They present you with an office filled with all its belongings, its diplomas, and the American flag. It’s a fantastic theater, with a full set design and everything. I, who was careful about so many things, ended up in a trap," González Silvera recounted.
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