Woman reports loss of more than US$17,000 in immigration fraud against Brazilians that resulted in the arrest of four suspects in Florida

Resident of Fernandópolis (SP) loses US$ 17 thousand after falling victim to immigration fraud Personal archive A 41-year-old woman, resident of Fernandópolis (SP), says she lost US$ 17 thousand after falling victim to an immigration fraud scheme that resulted in the arrest of four suspects in Florida, in the United States. The crime suspects are also Brazilian, according to the police. They are being investigated for carrying out scams against undocumented immigrants who were seeking to regularize their situation in the country. 📲 Join the g1 Rio Preto e Araçatuba channel on WhatsApp According to the sheriff responsible for the case, the group presented itself as a complete immigration services agency. The victim, who will not be identified in the report, told g1 that she is married and has three children. Five years ago, the family decided that they should leave Brazil to live in the United States and began the procedures to obtain immigration authorization. “We never, under any circumstances, thought about going illegally. So, we took the only asset we had and sold it for that: our house. And even so, we paid in installments. We became suspicious of Legacy Immigra after two months of closing the contract, between March and April of last year. The employee turnover was absurd, this 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. Among those arrested in Florida are Ronaldo de Campos, Vagner Soares de Almeida, Juliana Colucci and Lucas Trindade Silva, appointed as company leaders. Juliana and Vagner are married. g1 tries to contact the suspects’ defense. Brazilians arrested by Florida police, accused of scamming Brazilian immigrants in the USA. Reproduction/Orange County “I discovered the agency through a recommendation from two friends, who also suffered losses. I was one of the people who lost a lot of money, more than 17 thousand dollars. We paid through an international account in Ronaldo’s name, which never even appeared in the contract. As a result, we have no way of suing him. All of our debt with Legacy was duly paid off in January of this year”, he says. Victim from Fernandópolis transferred money to an international account in the name of one of the suspects Personal file According to the victim, the family is still in Brazil and was unable to complete the necessary procedures to carry out the American immigration process. The Brazilian started to face psychological problems due to the fraud. “Today, we no longer have the money to restart this process, for which we fought so hard. It’s all over!! We’re going to get into debt here in Brazil to try to continue. 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. Investigation The investigation began after complaints received by the Florida Bar. At least seven victims collaborated in the case, but American police believe the number to be higher. According to the investigation, the suspects exploited the fear of deportation. 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. The case will be brought to trial by state prosecutors. See the videos that are trending on g1 Initial plugin text See more news from the region on g1 Rio Preto and Araçatuba VIDEOS: check out the reports from TV TEM

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