http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=4327601&nav=3YeX

Scam cost illegal aliens $150,000

(Meriden-AP, Jan. 6, 2006 8:01 AM) _ Undocumented immigrants in the New Haven area were ripped off by about $150,000 in an alleged scam run by a New York woman who took their money and never produced the promised paperwork.

Maria Agosto was arraigned in Meriden Superior Court yesterday and charged with first-degree larceny and criminal impersonation. She is accused of posing as an immigration official. She lived for a while in Hamden.

The arrest warrant says dozens of people each week visited her apartment and were given different prices, depending on the difficulty of their cases.

One Colombian man paid $25,000 to obtain legal documents for his family. Others brought jewelry and cash.

Agosto was extradited on Wednesday by Hamden police from New York and is jailed on $100,000 bail.