A New York attorney and his former assistant have been sentenced to federal jail time and were ordered to pay restitution for defrauding more than 230 undocumented immigrants – including Guyanese – who came to them for help to become legal immigrants.
According to Longislandpress.com Thomas Archer, 54, and Rukhsana Rafique, 46, were both convicted in March at Brooklyn federal court when a jury found them guilty of visa fraud and conspiracy.
Archer was sentenced to five years in prison and Rafique, also known as “Rukhsana Rukhsana,” was sentenced to 18 months. They were also ordered to pay a total of US$309,500 in restitution to 234 of their former clients.
Archer tendered false legalization applications on behalf of the victims to the Department of Homeland Security between 2004 and 2005, charging each client between US$1,500 and US$2,500, but none of the applications were granted, prosecutors said.
According to the report, four of Archer’s former clients, including citizens of Pakistan and Guyana, testified at trial that they did not meet the requirements for the legalization, but that Rafique nonetheless prepared application forms for them.
