By R.M. Schneiderman
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, three Brooklyn-based companies allegedly defrauded the city’s Haitian community by offering bogus immigration services for costly fees, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The attorney general’s office filed civil suit against the three companies and their owners on Tuesday, saying they offered legal services to Haitians though the owners and their employees are not lawyers. Under New York state and federal law, only attorneys or similarly accredited professionals can represent clients before immigration authorities.
The companies, Cuomo’s office said, have also been charging Haitians thousands of dollars for processing immigration applications that could have been filed for free as well as charging fees to process immigration applications for people who were ineligible to remain in the country.
“New York’s Haitian residents have sadly been a target for immigration scams, bringing further pain to a community that has already suffered so much,” Cuomo said in a press release. “I urge anyone who has been affected by this type of fraud to contact my office.”
Following the earthquake in January, the U.S. allowed Haitians who were already in the country to remain here for eighteen months. Shortly thereafter, Cuomo’s office began to receive word that companies were advertising to Haitian immigrants seeking temporary protected status, which allows foreign nationals of certain countries to remain in the U.S. if it is unsafe for them to return to their home countries.
In the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office said it intends to shut down the three companies: Chay Pa Lou Community Center, Delegue Tax Consultant and Rincher’s Multi-Service. The owner of the first two companies, Jean Michel, faces more than 100 violations. The latter company’s owners, Deslande Seixas-Rincher and Sharlene Seixas-Rinche, face more than 30 violations. Each violation carries a $7,500 fine plus restitution.
