2 charged in alleged NYC Chinese immigrant scam
NEW YORK - NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors announced the arrests Thursday of a man and woman who they said preyed on vulnerable Chinese immigrants by falsely promising to get them expedited green cards and other documents.
District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the defendants claimed to run an immigration law office in Chinatown but in fact "were not organized to do any legitimate business. ... They were out there to steal from immigrants."
The defendants were identified as 50-year-old Tong Hui You, also known as Kevin You, and 36-year-old Xiao Ling Chen, also known as Linda Chen.
Prosecutors said You represented himself as a lawyer but neither he nor Chen is in an attorney.
The pair were indicted on charges including grand larceny, scheming to defraud and violating New York City's Immigration Assistance Services Law.
They were expected to be arraigned Friday in Manhattan criminal court. Information about their attorneys was not immediately available, and nobody answered the phone at their business, Da Bure Immigration Consultation Inc.
Prosecutors said a complainant whom they did not identify paid the pair $4,840, supposedly so that his family members in China would be allowed to immigrate to the United States and family members in the U.S. would receive green cards.
You falsely claimed he had special connections to the U.S. Embassy in China and to immigration authorities, Morgenthau said.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said a safe was found during a search of their offices Thursday and authorities hope to recover some of the victims' money.
Prosecutors said You and Chen targeted immigrants from Fujian in Southeast China, who are especially vulnerable to scams because they are recent arrivals and they are poor. Morgenthau urged scam victims to come forward regardless of their immigration status, promising not to turn them over to the federal immigration authorities.
Eddie Chiu, president of the Lin Sing Association, a 109-year-old organization that promotes the betterment of Manhattan's Chinatown, said he has received hundreds of complaints about Da Bure Immigration Consultation.
"Lots of victims keep calling me," Chiu said. "They hurt a lot of people. I hope we can do something for those victims."
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