Bucks woman gets jail in immigration-fraud scheme
A Holland, Bucks County, woman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for her role in a massive immigration-fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A Holland, Bucks County, woman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for her role in a massive immigration-fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Nelly Katsman, 41, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy and one count of visa/asylum fraud in connection with the scheme, carried out by David Lynn, 33, who allegedly made $3 million from the scam with help from five other Russian-born codefendants, including Katsman. The business submitted at least 380 bogus asylum applications for clients between January 2003 and March 2007, according to acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid.
Lynn pretended to be a lawyer who specialized in immigration cases, the indictment states, and operated from offices in Northeast Philadelphia and Southampton, Bucks County.
Lynn and Anatoly Zagrinichny have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Ilya Zherelyev pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced Jan. 9 to 24 months in prison. Yevgeny Zemlyansky and Akbar Kadirov are awaiting trial. - Inquirer staff