Minnesota women say they fell victim to scam trying to get loved ones out of ICE custody
As thousands in Minnesota grapple with loved ones facing deportation, the fight in the immigration court system has become a critical lifeline. For at least two Ecuadorian women, their efforts to find legal assistance turned out to compound their problems, telling WCCO that they believe they've been scammed.
Geovana Patricia said that when ICE detained her husband, she didn't know who to turn to; that is, until a friend, Alexandra Chorlango, recommended an attorney whom she contacted for help after her brother was detained.
Patricia called a number with a Florida area code on a digital flyer for "Inmigrate & Asociados L.LC." A woman claiming to be an attorney, whom WCCO is not yet naming, told her that she could help, but immediately asked for a payment of $1,500 to start the process.
"I was so desperate that I sent it to them," Patricia said. "I was scammed, maybe because I was desperate. I just wanted to help my husband."
As the days ticked by, Patricia said that she was getting inconsistent information from the woman. At one point, she was sent a supposed document related to an order of release for her husband. WCCO found that the document had several typos and grammatical inconsistencies.
As of Thursday night, Patricia's husband is still detained in Texas, telling her on the phone that he has never met or been contacted by the woman claiming to be their attorney.
Chorlango said she eventually ran into the same problem. After paying this woman $1,500, she said that she began to suspect she was being scammed as well, as she saw no concrete movement for her brother after he was detained in Bloomington and taken to Texas.
Chorlango said that her cousin also paid the same woman $1,500 for legal services after her son was taken from Bloomington to Louisiana. In that case, Chorlango explained that her cousin got a pro-bono attorney to step in to help. After her son was already released on a habeas corpus petition, the original woman whom she paid $1,500 to was still talking about working to free him.
WCCO spoke to this woman on the phone with Patricia. She declined to respond to scam accusations and declined to provide any proof that she was a practicing attorney.
The Minnesota State Attorney General's Office recommends calling the Bar Association of the state in which an attorney claims to be practicing to check their credentials.