Fraudulent lawyers legalize Russians in the US under the guise of persecuted gays and dissidents

Fraudulent lawyers legalize Russians in the US under the guise of persecuted gays and dissidents

The FBI made a series of arrests.

The FBI has arrested Russian-speaking lawyers from Brooklyn who are accused of conspiracy and fraud - they helped citizens of Russia and the CIS countries obtain political asylum and refugee status who did not have the legal right to do so, the agency’s website reports.

According to investigators, employees of firms owned by lawyers Ilona Dzhamagarova and her husband Artur Arkadian, as well as Igor Reznik, taught clients to lie under oath during interviews and represented their clients during immigration procedures.

In particular, they advised clients to apply for asylum on the basis of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The lawyers also suggested that they write opposition blogs to use as evidence when applying for asylum. If clients were unable to write the blog themselves, they hired an editor to do so. In addition, law firm partners falsified asylum application forms.

"Under the guise of fictitious stories of persecution for asylum, the suspects exploited their fellow Americans for financial gain. Their arrest should serve as a warning to others," said Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina.

Yuriy Mosha, Volodymyr Danskoy, Yuliya Greenberg, Oleksiy Kmit, Timur Shcherbina and Kateryna Lisyuchenko are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit asylum fraud. The five defendants were arrested today in various U.S. counties, and Kateryna Lisyuchenko was arrested in Milan and is awaiting extradition.

Firma Dzhamgarova and Russkaya Amerika assisted their clients, primarily foreigners from Russia and the CIS, in obtaining visas, asylum, citizenship, and other forms of legal status in the United States. Among other things, both firms advised some of their clients on how they were likely to obtain asylum in this country, fully understanding that these clients had no legal right to asylum. The firms also prepared and provided clients with false asylum application forms and written statements about the asylum seeker’s personal history and stated grounds for asylum. Members and partners of each firm also coached clients on how to lie under oath during interviews, and provided legal representation for their clients during immigration proceedings.

For example, Ilona Dzhamgarova advised clients to seek asylum based on their alleged persecution as members of the LGBTQ community. Dzhamgarova’s firm also hired writers and bloggers, including Ihor Reznik, to draft false asylum affidavits for clients. Yuriy Mosha and Volodymyr Danskoy managed and serviced Russian America’s Manhattan and Brooklyn offices, respectively. Mosha encouraged certain clients to create and maintain online blogs critical of their countries of residence in order to have grounds to apply for political asylum; in reality, these blogs were run by Timur Shcherbina. Oleksiy Kmit advised clients on fraudulent applications. Donskoy also advised clients to seek asylum based on their alleged homosexual orientation.

At the same time, both Mosha and Donskoy referred clients to Kateryna Lisyuchenko, an Italian lawyer who helped draft fake asylum affidavits and advised clients on what information to use. Immigration attorney Yuliya Greenberg coached them on how to answer asylum interviews.

"Creating false narratives to conceal the identities of people seeking asylum in the United States threatens our national security, and we will continue to address it accordingly," FBI Deputy Acting Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement about the incident.