A San Jose woman suspected of immigration fraud was arrested, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office on Monday.
Jasmine E. Sanchez, 36, has submitted herself to the sheriff’s office over the weekend after a Santa Clara County resident claimed to the Notario Fraud Unit Detectives that they were fraud victims, KRON4 reported.
Sanchez was later discovered by detectives to have received $5, 000 payment from a married couple’s citizenship and visa application completion.
Over the course of four years, the suspect pretended as an Immigration Consultant in San Jose who assured her clients that their citizenship applications were already submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“Detectives later confirmed that Sanchez did not submit any applications to the USCIS and kept the victims money, and did not provide any refund to the victims,” part of the sheriff’s office’s press release reads. “As a result, the victims were unable to visit their home country to visit dying relatives.”
Another victim of Sanchez emerged during the investigation, saying that they paid about $1, 000 some years before for an application for a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Sanchez indeed filed the applications, detectives said. However, no application has reached the USCIS through Sanchez and her clients were not refunded.
This caused a lost scholarship for a client, as well as a failure to attend at a local trade school.
In an interview, detectives found out that Sanchez did not submit her clients’ immigration documents. Also, accounting for her client’s money processes is non-existent.
Sanchez faked her title of being a California Secretary of State and a bonded Immigration Consultant, according to detectives.
Charges of Graft Theft, Theft by False Pretenses, and Immigration Consultant Act violation were slapped against the suspect.
Her victims are asked by the sheriff’s office to report to at 408-808-4599 or email tips@sheriff.sccgov.org.
