Immigrant Task Force Arrests 1

In the first major case filed by a multi-agency task force created to protect illegal immigrants from con artists, federal investigators in San Diego on Wednesday arrested a woman who allegedly bilked hundreds--possibly thousands--of victims over a 10-year period by promising to help them become legal residents.

Working out of her San Diego home and an Anaheim motel room, Valerie Pena charged $300 to $2,000 or more per immigrant for services that officials said she never delivered, including filing forms and appearing in immigration court.

Mexican consular officials in San Diego said it was the largest and longest-running immigration scam they had ever seen.

The early morning arrest of Pena followed a 10-month investigation that involved the FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service and the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

Pena was charged with document fraud, impersonation of a federal officer and harboring aliens, charges that carry a maximum sentence of 23 years. She was ordered held without bail Wednesday afternoon and given a public defender.

The investigation was prompted by complaints from the Mexican Consulate, which put authorities in touch with dozens of victims. Later, an undercover INS agent posed as an illegal immigrant seeking help from Pena.

In an interview with The Times at the Anaheim motel two months ago, Pena said she had helped about 5,000 immigrants gain legal status during the past 12 years. She said she had about 200 clients at the time, including immigrants from Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. “I started this because of different friends that I have that needed help,” she said. “Most of my work is done pro bono.”

But eight clients interviewed by The Times produced receipts showing that they had paid at least $1,000 each over months-long periods. They said that when it became clear that they had been duped, Pena avoided their calls.

Many clients, who were primarily from Mexico, had already been advised by attorneys or legitimate immigration counselors that they had no grounds for gaining legal status. They turned to Pena in desperation after hearing rumors that she had helped cousins or acquaintances with difficult cases.

Months after paying fees, many said they received papers in the mail that appeared to approve their applications but turned out to be fakes. “She really took us for a ride,” said Marcos Huerta, a Garden Grove maintenance worker who paid Pena $1,200 to arrange residency for himself and his wife.

In recent months, Huerta said, he tried to inform other clients at an Anaheim motel, where Pena met with clients every Wednesday night. He said the clients refused to believe him and paid Pena hundreds of dollars for filing fees and other expenses.

“The good thing is that it is going to stop now,” he said. “The worst thing is to have the illusion that you will get the documents. You wait, and you wait, and all your hope is for nothing.”

Lourdes Sandoval, a spokeswoman at the Mexican Consulate, said consular officials will file a claim on behalf of the victims who come forward in an attempt to regain some of their money.

Sandoval said 42 victims will be allowed to stay in the United States as witnesses until the case is finished, at which point they could be subject to deportation.

Immigration attorneys said Pena’s alleged scam was notable for its size and duration, but not for its choice of victims. Illegal immigrants are particularly vulnerable because many are desperate to become legal, confused by changing immigration laws and afraid to complain after realizing that they have been duped, they said.

“Inevitably people are going to grope for help,” said Peter Schey, a Los Angeles immigration lawyer. “If someone appears to toss them a life vest, they’re going to reach for it.”

Investigation of such scams has often fallen through the cracks, because jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies is not clear, or the cases are considered too difficult or too small to pursue, federal officials say.

In the case of Pena, investigators for the INS and the Anaheim Police Department visited Pena at the hotel. Both investigators said they did not see anything obviously illegal during their visits. They also said such investigations are hampered by the unwillingness of victims to come forward.

However, several Orange County victims said they were angry enough to cooperate. At one point, Huerta said, he went to the Anaheim Police Department and asked that Pena, who was then at the motel, be arrested. He was given a scrap of paper with a phone number for the INS, he said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Amalia Meza, who coordinated the investigation, said that after Pena’s arrest at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, a “swarm” of investigators from several federal agencies searched her Logan Heights house for records. Meza said the investigation is continuing.

It was the first case filed by the San Diego regional civil rights task force, created by the San Diego U.S. attorney’s office last year to uncover fraud against immigrants.

“Our aggressive enforcement of immigration laws does not give anyone a green light to take advantage of migrants who enter the United States illegally,” said U.S. Atty. Alan D. Bersin.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno last spring warned that fraud against immigrants, while always prevalent, may become increasingly common as tough new federal immigration laws are enforced.

A Department of Justice working group recommended forming multi-agency task forces to combat such scams and plans to set up pilot programs in five cities, including Los Angeles, said John Morton, an attorney coordinating the project.

“This is exactly the kind of fraud we’re trying to pull everybody together on to go out and deter,” Morton said. “We are convinced this is a big problem nationwide.”