Thread: PA-Defendant in bogus asylum scheme pleads guilty

Posted on Wed, Aug. 27, 2008


Defendant in bogus asylum scheme pleads guilty
By MICHAEL HINKELMAN
Philadelphia Daily News

hinkelm@phillynews.com 215-854-2656

A former bodyguard for the alleged kingpin of a massive $3 million immigration-fraud scheme pleaded guilty yesterday in federal district court.
Ilya Zherelyev, 46, formerly of Northeast Philadelphia, has been in federal custody since April 2007, after he failed to show up in court on charges that he fraudulently tried to obtain U.S. citizenship.

At least three other defendants in the case, including alleged ringleader David Lynn, of Holland, Bucks County, also will plead guilty in the case next month, according to court documents.

Lynn and five others, all of them Russian-born, were indicted last month on conspiracy, fraud and money-laundering charges.

Authorities said the phony asylum business operated from January 2003 to March 2007.

Lynn's business allegedly filed 380 bogus asylum applications - charging undocumented immigrants fees of $8,000 to $12,000 - to get green cards, often within several months, because of purported religious or ethnic persecution in their homelands.

Zherelyev admitted yesterday that he accompanied Lynn on trips to Chicago, Cleveland and New York to meet with clients.

He later prepared bogus asylum applications and supporting documents, set up meetings between clients and immigration officials, and helped Lynn launder the illegal proceeds from the business by depositing some of the money in an offshore bank account that Lynn controlled.

According to court documents, Zherelyev told a federal agent in May that he realized the asylum-application business was a fraud and knew Lynn was "scamming his clients."

U.S. District Judge Anita Brody set sentencing for Dec. 2. Zherelyev potentially faces from 41 to 52 months behind bars, under sentencing guidelines.


http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/2 ... uilty.html

There goes the argument that anti-illegal immigration groups are racists against Hispanics. What a joke. Look at the fraud, the crime. We don't want you here illegally. PERIOD. We don't care what country you come from, what color your skin is. Illegal is bad news all the way around for Americans.