Did you hire this immigration attorney? ICE says he’s a fraud, filed phony asylum papers
Elvis Reyes calls himself an immigration attorney, pastor, accountant, immigration expert, former immigration official and former federal law enforcement officer. He says he’s helped hundreds who seek asylum.
But he’s never been a licensed lawyer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Federal immigration officials and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Monday arrested Reyes, 56. He faces 25 charges, including eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of making false statements in immigration documents and nine counts of aggravated identity theft.
Authorities say Reyes owned and operated a Tampa-area company, EHR Ministries, where he portrayed himself in several official capacities, including posing as an immigration lawyer.
“Reyes is not and has never been a licensed attorney,“ ICE said in a press release.
He would target undocumented immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries who were seeking Florida driver licenses and work authorization papers, ICE said. He would give false, inaccurate and incomplete legal immigration advice to immigrants to entice them into using his services, the immigration agency said.
Those who did use his services would hire him to represent them in immigration-related matters with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and other government agencies. He filed fraudulent immigration applications in the victims’ names, seeking asylum relief.
ICE says Reyes has filed 215 fraudulent asylum applications.
In the applications, Reyes would falsify answers, fabricate stories about threats and persecution and lie about applicants’ fear of returning to their home countries. He did not tell the victims he was lying.
If convicted, Reyes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count of mail fraud, up to 15 years for each false statement count and mandatory two-year imprisonment for aggravated identity theft counts.
ICE is looking for anyone who has worked with or retained Reyes’ service and is urged to contact the Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or http://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 7:04 PM.
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