PA-6 charged with asylum fraud in Philadelphia
Tuesday, Jul. 29, 2008
6 charged with asylum fraud in Philadelphia
- The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Federal authorities in Philadelphia have charged a native of Russia with helping 380 asylum seekers file bogus applications over a four-year period.
David Lynn, who is 33 and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs, is charged with conspiracy and fraud. Five others, all Russian-born, are also named in the indictment announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors say the group made $3 million coaching asylum seekers on how to plead their cases to immigration officials. Authorities say the group told the applicants to fraudulently claim persecution based on religion or sexual orientation.
The asylum seekers were mostly from Russia and Eastern Europe. Only a handful of the 380 successfully obtained asylum.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/state/story/742150.html
Russian emigrants in Pa. charged with asylum fraud
Jul 29, 3:18 PM EDT
Russian emigrants in Pa. charged with asylum fraud
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A group of Russian-born immigrants made $3 million helping 380 asylum-seekers file bogus applications over a four-year period, federal authorities charged Tuesday.
David Lynn, 33, posed as an immigration lawyer and coached natives of eastern Europe on how to claim persecution on religious, sexual orientation or other grounds, prosecutors said.
He charged $8,000 per person or $10,000 to $12,000 per family, according to officials who said they found $560,000 in cash and two gold bars hidden in floorboards of Lynn's home during a 2007 raid.
Despite a reputation that spread through the eastern European community in northeast Philadelphia and adjacent Bucks County, only a handful of the applicants actually obtained asylum.
Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said Lynn and his underlings exploited the asylum process - which she called "one of the cornerstones of the American immigration system" - for profit.
"This fraud was about nothing more than money," Magid said.
Lynn, who came to the U.S. from Israel, ran a supposed translation service that attracted asylum seekers from the Philadelphia area and beyond. He claimed to be a lawyer but had no such training, officials said.
Most of the clients were from Russia, while others were from Ukraine, Poland and elsewhere. The green card seekers were coached to tell immigration officials they feared persecution for being Baptist, Jewish, a Jehovah's Witness or gay, authorities said.
Clients dissatisfied with the process ultimately tipped off authorities to the operation, Magid said.
The defendants include Lynn, who lived in Holland, Pa.; his father-in-law, Yevgeny Zemlyansky, 61, of Feasterville; Ilya Zherelyev, 46, of Philadelphia; Anatoly Zagrinichny, 62, of Philadelphia; Akbar Kadirov, 54, of Philadelphia; and Nelly Katsman, 41, of Holland.
Lawyer Anna M. Durbin, who represents Lynn, was in court and did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.
The defendants were expected to make initial appearances in federal court in Philadelphia this week.
Lynn, also known as David Waisman, had not yet been arrested, but prosecutors said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials knew of his whereabouts. He is in the U.S. illegally, they said.
The other defendants are naturalized citizens or legal permanent residents, authorities said.
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