Brazilian woman who lost US$17,000 in an immigration scam questioned the agency after a fraud alert and received a guarantee: ‘CEO reassured us’

Brazilian reports loss of more than US$ 17 thousand in immigration fraud The Brazilian from Fernandópolis (SP) who says she lost 17 thousand dollars in the immigration scam in which four suspects were arrested in Florida, in the United States, questioned the agency after fraud alerts appeared and received messages from the seller stating that the CEO reassured the team and advised the continuity of services. The investigation led to the arrest of Brazilians Ronaldo de Campos, Vagner Soares de Almeida, Juliana Colucci and Lucas Trindade Silva, identified as the leaders of the Legacy Immigra agency, on April 23. The report tries to contact those mentioned to try to find a position. 📲 Join the g1 Rio Preto e Araçatuba channel on WhatsApp The resident of the interior of São Paulo will not be identified by the report. To g1, she said that the first warning signs appeared in May 2025, after the circulation of a video on social media that denounced schemes involving asylum requests and retention of client documents in agencies. At the time, the victim sent the publication link to the agency’s number and stated that she felt insecure about possible irregularities in the issuance of immigration regularization documents and visas. See the messages below. Woman from Fernandópolis (SP) expressed concern about scams from immigration agencies Personal archive “For those of us on the outside, it’s a whirlwind of thoughts, right? But I asked God a lot and, to tell you the truth, you give me this security”, wrote the victim. Despite the repercussion, the questions were minimized at the time by the sales representative with whom I spoke. In response, the seller stated that the company’s management had met with employees. “Regarding the allegations, Legacy’s CEO held a meeting with our managers and they reassured us to continue with our routines and continue with the normal progress and processing of our clients’ processes”, says an excerpt from the conversation. From left to right: Vagner Soares de Almeida, Juliana Colucci, Ronaldo de Campos and Lucas Felipe Trindade Silva Reproduction/Orange County After receiving the message, the woman responded saying she felt calmer. According to the victim, confidence in the service and guarantees provided by the company helped her maintain the process. “They said that there were many companies, that the group was huge, that the whole scandal didn’t make sense and that, by doing a good job, they were bothering the competition”, said the victim. According to the victim, the financial loss was US$ 17 thousand, an amount invested in the process, which, if converted, is equivalent to more than R$ 85 thousand. The payments were made to an international account, in Ronaldo’s name, as shown in the receipts sent to the report. See below. Resident of Fernandópolis (SP) loses US$17,000 after falling for immigration fraud Personal archive The scam The victim is married and has three children. Five years ago, the family decided that they would leave Brazil to live in the United States and began the procedures to obtain immigration authorization. Legacy was recommended by two friends, who also suffered losses. To obtain the money, the woman sold her house and made payments in installments to the agency. Two months after the contract was signed, between March and April last year, suspicions arose. “We never, under any circumstances, thought about going illegally. The employee turnover was absurd, it bothered us a lot and created a lot of insecurity, because we would no longer be able to get our money back”, says the victim. All debt with the agency was paid off in January this year. The family remains in Fernandópolis and was unable to complete the American immigration process. Due to the fraud, she developed psychological problems. “For several days now, I’ve felt pain in my body, malaise, insomnia and I don’t know how to drive. I want my money back. People are ‘samba’ in our pain. Many people make fun of us and wish us well, but we never did anything wrong”, concludes the woman. Fernandópolis victim transferred money to an international account in the name of one of the suspects Personal file Initial plugin text Complaints The case came to light after complaints received by the Florida Bar Association in September last year. According to the sheriff responsible for the case, the group presented itself as a complete immigration services agency. The supposed lawyers handled immigration applications. According to him, practice was different from speech. “They basically got rich with a business model based on manipulation, fraud, lies and extortion,” he said. Individual losses range from US$2,500 to US$26,000. Financial records indicate the group raised more than $20 million in three years. The operation that resulted in the arrests was conducted by local authorities, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. See more news from the region on g1 Rio Preto and Araçatuba VIDEOS: check out the reports from TV TEM

Source link