WWW.STREETHYPENEWSPAPER.COM
Lawyer Slapped With Visa Fraud, ID Theft Charges
Vol 11; No. 03
A
‘Community Lifestyle Newspaper’
By Kimmy Blair Street Hype Writer
New York immigration attorney was arrested Feb. 4 on charges of visa fraud, aggravated identity theft and mail fraud related to his clients' immigration applications.
Gnoleba Seri, a licensed immigration attorney working in Manhattan and Brooklyn, is alleged to have engaged in a scheme to use personal information provided by his clients' sponsors for fraudulent purposes. The Southern District U.S. Attorney's office alleged that his scheme occurred between Oct. 2012 and April 2015. Prosecutors allege that Seri received legitimate immigration forms, tax information, pay stubs and W-2 documents from individuals sponsoring his clients, who were apply-
INSIDE
GNOLEBA SERI
immigration attorney
BLACK HISTORY MONTH page 10
• Legal Issues - 7 • Sports - 8 • Entertainment - 9 • Beauty Care - 16 • Advice Column - 18 • Business - 21
• FREE COPY
•
FEB 1-18, 2016
ing for visas and for legal permanent resident status, and then fraudulently submitted these documents in applications for other clients. Prosecutors said Seri submitted forms "that listed individuals as financial sponsors who had never met the people they were purportedly agreeing to sponsor." The forged forms listed Seri as the preparer. The complaint said an immigration officer interviewed people whose identities and information were used without their permission, and that there were at least 16 victims of the scheme. Seri appeared before Southern District Magistrate Judge James Francis IV. He was released on a $150,000 personal recognizance bond, secured by co-signers. His attorney, Jennifer Willis of the Federal Defenders of New York, declined to comment, and messages left at Seri's office were not immediately returned.
Patriece B. Miller Funeral Service, Inc. Licensed Funeral Director
From Westmoreland, Jamaica WI
• Shipping Local & Overseas
718-314-2019
CARIBBEAN FLAVOR Rasta Pasta Curry Coconut Salmon Brown Stew Salmon Run Down Snapper Jerk Salmon Curried Lobster Escovich Snapper Lobster Run Down King Crab Legs
Griller Tilapia
BJ’s Shopping Center Pelham Manor Plaza open 7 am to 10 pm
914-633-5000
THINKING OF GOING NATURAL? NEW BEGINNING BEAUTY SALON
718-678-8118 •
bxtopstylist@gmail.com
Jamaicans Vote on Feb 25 Story on page 5
Providing Quality Legal Services To The Caribbean Community Since 2005
Personal Injury, Immigration, Matrimonial/Family Law FREE CONSULTATIONS
ADAM S. HANDLER, ESQ.
212-233-8100
ash@ppid.com • www.ppid.com www.thecasehandler.com