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In a case between the United States, represented by assistant Attorney Nicholas Kerest, and Arleigh Louison, 53, from Brooklyn, New York, the latter has come under prosecution following charges of running an immigration fraud scheme. This type of fraud scheme is a crime where individuals and sometimes agencies or even corrupt attorneys deceive immigrants into giving them large amounts of money when the culprit has no intention or is simply incapable of providing the speculated assistance.
Louison was arrested by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). Upon using a federal search warrant to search out his office, it was discovered that he had been engaged in over 1800 fraudulent applications from some 1000 petitioners spanning the past four years. Arleigh has come under a 12-count indictment for this charge and awaits an arraignment before the court in the District of Vermont.
The VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act introduced in 1994, is a legislative piece with the aim of improving criminal legal and community-based responses to domestic violence and other such crimes in the United States to allow victims to have an immediate intervention. Allegations surrounding the case suggest that Louison provided false information in VAWA petitions presented in an attempt to secure EAD cards (I-765 Employment Authorization Document “EAD card”) for his petitioners at the time.
Form I-360 is a type of form that initiates the application process for a green card for select groups of immigrants such as Amerasians immigrants, widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, and special immigrants. Louison is being indicted with charges concerning inappropriate use and misrepresentation of these Form I-360 petitions on behalf of the petitioners.
He attempted to deceive the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Service Center in St. Albans, Vermont, by presenting false statements which caused the petitioners to appear as victims of ill-treatment. The charges are further elaborated to state that the victims of Louison’s immigration fraud scheme were not actual victims of any form of abuse, neither did they state any such complaints to him. However, they paid him for his services. Louison went ahead to create a fee waiver petition for the petitioners without their consent or awareness.
The U.S. Attorney’s office has resolved to diligently and intensely deal with immigration fraud schemes, tampering and altering the intent of the Violation Against Women Act (VAWA) AND FRAUDS of all such nature.
Louison is yet to have an attorney make an appearance on his behalf in the District of Vermont.
