Immigration lawyer Willy Allen issued an urgent warning to the Cuban and immigrant community in the United States: unknown individuals are using artificial intelligence to impersonate him and his son on TikTok, soliciting money in exchange for fake immigration services.
Allen revealed the fraud this Monday during his weekly program alongside Tania Costa on CiberCuba, where he described in detail how the scammers operate. "On TikTok, in particular, someone created a profile of me and my son using artificial intelligence, and I am experiencing the same thing that happened to Ángel Leal, who posts an ad saying send me $2,500 and I will make you American without conducting an interview. They are stealing money," the lawyer stated.
The fraudulent ads use AI-generated versions of Allen's and his son's faces, combined with his real name and the name of his office. "First of all, that’s not really my face, although I do look quite good in the face they put there. My son looks different in the face they give him. They have my name on it, they have my office, they’ve also used one of my photographs as a clone in the ad," he explained.
Before anyone falls into the trap, Allen was emphatic about how to identify the deception. He explained that his office never accepts bank transfers or payments via Zelle or other phone-based methods. "My office never, ever, ever accepts Zelle. I don't accept bank transfers and I don't accept phone transfers," he emphasized. The only payment method he uses, he stated, is credit card, during direct conversations with the client.
He also recalled that in more than four decades of professional practice, his firm has never requested payments through advertisements on social media. "I have never advertised. I have never put a sign in my office saying contact me and pay this for me to do that. It hasn't happened in over 40 years," he stated.
The lawyer also warned about the central promise of the scam: no one can obtain American citizenship or residency without undergoing some form of official review. "No one can become an American citizen without an interview. No one. It doesn't matter how much you pay, it doesn't work that way," he said, urging immigrants to educate themselves before handing over their money.
His message was clear: "Any video you see, whether on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or any of these social networks, where one of my offices is asking for money, is false."
The case of Allen adds to a wave of immigration scams using artificial intelligence that affects the immigrant community in the United States. Allen himself mentioned attorney Ángel Leal as a previous case: his identity was impersonated since October 2025 on TikTok with fake accounts that caused victims losses ranging from six to seven figures, and forced Leal to hire a specialized agency that removed approximately 6,500 fake profiles across various platforms.
In June 2026, lawyer Liudmila Marcelo also fell victim to identity theft on social media, where scammers sold fake appointments with her for $300. Months earlier, in April, it was documented how criminal networks set up fictitious immigration courts with actors, causing victims to lose between $1,300 and $11,000. Reports of immigration fraud to the Federal Trade Commission nearly doubled in 2025, rising from about 960 annually to nearly 2,000.
"Clarified: it's not Willy Allen, it's a scam," concluded Tania Costa, with a final call from Willy Allen for "the consumer to be alert and realize."
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