Officials say they are seeing more scammers targeting individuals seeking citizenship in California. The Kern County District Attorney's Office says it's a concern for the local area as well.
The Yolo County District Attorney's Office says they were made aware of the scam by migrant farm workers receiving flyers and pamphlets at work camps promising to provide government forms and help speeding up the process of becoming a legal U.S. citizen for a fee. However, once victims put up the money, they never receive the service they were promised.
Services offered include:
- access to government forms, which are actually free
- assistance in completing applications for benefits which the victim is ineligible for
- insider assistance; claiming friends who work for immigration that can speed up the citizenship process.
Victims of immigration fraud could end up not only losing large amounts of money, but hurting their chances of obtaining legal status in the future.
If an attorney claims to be licensed in California, confirm his or her status by calling the State Bar of California’s immigration hotline at 866-879-4532 or by going to: calbar.ca.gov.
Fraudulent activity can be reported to the Kern County District Attorney's Office at (661) 868-2340.
