Former adviser sentenced to 10 years in swindle

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
By Robert Gearty
Friday, January 27, 2012, 9:22 PM

An immigration adviser who swindled dozens of clients out more than half a million dollars was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison .

Clover Perez, 45, also was ordered to forfeit $560,000 and make full restitution to her 83 victims.

She “was a beacon of hope for her immigrant clients who believed she could help them secure legal status in the United States, but instead she exploited their vulnerability for her own personal gain,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Letters to the judge from many of the defrauded victims showed the devastation caused by the faud.

“I took moneys to pay my rent on several occasions to pay to Ms. Clover Perez for things she said I should pay,” one victim wrote.

“I was being back up on my rent and other utilities bills. I could not buy myself or my family any new clothes or winter jackets for the winter.”

Another victim said that she was defrauded out of $37,000 by Perez, leaving her family devastated “by this awful experience.”

Read more: Prison for*Clover Perez in defrauding of immigrants - NY Daily News