F.B.I. agents during a raid in Chinatown in Manhattan on Tuesday. Twenty-six people, including six lawyers and employees of at least10 law firms, were arrested in what the authorities said was a plot to orchestrate false asylum claims for Chinese immigrants.

They invented woeful tales of persecution for their Chinese clients. Prepped them on how to lie about having had a forced abortion. Even tutored them on religion.

In all,26 people, including6 lawyers, were charged Tuesday with helping Chinese immigrants submit false asylum claims in an effort to stay in the United States, law enforcement officials said.

The indictments describe elaborate schemes based in law offices in Manhattan’s Chinatown and in Flushing, Queens, which involved teams of paralegals and office managers, translators and a church official, who conspired to dupeimmigration officials by inventing stories of political and religious persecution for their clients, officials said.

The indictments say female clients who sought asylum based on China’s one-child policy were encouraged to prepare for asylum interviews by watching Chinese soap operas so they could describe the experience of a forced abortion. Some paralegals were called「story writers」 for their knack for inventing detailed tales of persecution. A church official in Flushing prepared clients for questions on religion by offering basic instruction in Christianity.

More than20 defendants were arrested in raids in Manhattan’s Chinatown and in Flushing, capping a three-year investigation.

Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, accused the defendants of「weaving elaborate fictions」 and making it「more difficult for those who are legitimately seeking refuge in this country.」

The indictments charged employees of at least10 law firms, the authorities said. In the past few years, the firms filed more than1,900 asylum applications, according to the indictments; officials did not say how many they believe were fraudulent.

Tuesday’s operation appeared to be among the largest roundups of lawyers and their associates in New York City in connection with asylum fraud allegations. Even so, the federal indictments only hinted at the pervasiveness of immigration fraud within the Chinese diaspora, experts said.

Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian-American studies and urban affairs at Hunter College, said he believed most Chinese asylum cases in New York City were fraudulent.「This is an industry,」 Mr. Kwong said.「Everybody knows about it, and these violations go on all the time.」

Immigrants can apply for asylum within a year of arriving in the United States and may qualify if they can show that they have suffered persecution or have a「well-founded fear of future persecution」 on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

Far more Chinese immigrants seek and receive asylum in the United States than any other group, government figures show. In fiscal year2011, about8,600 Chinese immigrants received asylum, or more than34 percent of all successful asylum seekers.

The investigation began after federal immigration officials in New York told investigators they were seeing similarities in many of the cases they were handling, according to an official briefed on the investigation.

In many of the cases reviewed by investigators, Chinese immigrants said they had been persecuted for being Christian or followers of Falun Gong. Others said they were persecuted for their political leanings. Yet others claimed they had suffered forcible abortions under China’s family-planning rules, the authorities said.

But investigators determined that many of the asylum applicants「had not actually suffered persecution in China,」 according to the indictments.

In exchange for money, the indictments state,「the law firm would make up a story of persecution and the client would need to memorize that story.」

Many of the law firms referred clients to the Full Gospel Church in Flushing, where they would meet with a church official, Liying Lin, prosecutors said.

Ms. Lin,29, provided services to asylum seekers including「training in the basic tenets of Christianity,」 prosecutors said. But much of Ms. Lin’s instruction was specifically aimed at tricking the immigration authorities, according to the indictment against her, which claimed that she「trained asylum applicants on what questions about religious belief would be asked during an asylum interview and coached the clients on how to answer.」

In return for such instruction, applicants「were expected to make cash donations.」 For an additional price, Ms. Lin provided certificates showing「the client’s attendance at church and/or the client’s baptism,」 according to the indictment.

All26 defendants were charged with conspiring to commit immigration fraud. They were awaiting arraignment Tuesday night.

涉難民欺詐 FBI紐約律師樓抓21人華人占多

【大紀元2012年12月19日訊】（大紀元記者蔡溶紐約報導）美國聯邦調查局（FBI）連同紐約市警局，周二（18日）突然搜查了市內至少10家律師樓，有26人被控涉嫌難民申請欺詐。在18日早上的掃蕩行動中，共有21人被捕，兩人將在今天投案自首，另有三人在逃。

在18日早上的行動中，位於華埠東百老匯街上的2號和11號兩棟樓被封，FBI進行搜查。其中11號樓4樓的一家律師行被搜查，而位於2號樓4樓至9樓的律師行也同時被搜查。據目擊者稱，被抓捕的大部分是華人也有西方人士，被搜查的律師行規模都比較大，客戶多為華人。

抓捕行動後，不少華人青年在被搜查的律師樓附近進進出出，急於了解自己的難民申請文件是否受到影響。聯成公所顧問趙文笙對事件評論說，其實聘請非法營運的移民服務仲介辦身分，不僅損失錢財，移民申請遭拒，還可能向移民局暴露其非法身分，有可能被遞解出境。

其中11號樓4樓的一家律師行Bandrich& Associates被搜查。(攝影﹕蔡溶/大紀元)

據美國司法部公布的新聞公告，曼哈頓聯邦法院起訴了包括六名律師在內的二十六人，指控他們在數百個移民庇護申請中進行移民欺詐。這些被搜查的律師行涉嫌為海外客戶假造難民申請材料，並培訓客戶如何向移民官說謊。被捕的21人均在律師樓工作，其中6人是律師，另有四人在皇后區一個政治庇護辦公室工作的翻譯人員被起訴。

此外，一名在皇后區一所教堂的工作人員被起訴，她涉嫌為來自中國的客戶，提供基督教知識培訓，以便這些人假稱因信仰基督教在中國被迫害。其他主要造假方式還有，假裝是計劃生育的受害者；假稱因信仰基督教受迫害；假稱是法輪功學員或中國民主黨成員而受迫害。

執法部門根據紐約庇護辦公室、美國公民和移民服務局及國土安全部的舉報採取了本次行動。所有26名被告都被控犯有陰謀移民欺詐罪。5被告被控實質性的移民欺詐罪，還有兩名被告被指控涉嫌銷售假冒的中國身份證。

嫌犯包括（以下音譯）﹕劉風鈴律師（46歲）、Vanessa Bandrich律師（33歲）、李豐律師（31歲）、辦公室經理苗裕昌（別名大衛∕47歲）、劉淑然辦公室經理（別名哈利∕35歲）、劉凱文律師助理、26歲的鄭聞廷律師助理、苗國秦（別名Lillian∕45歲）、楊欣律師助理、Ken Giles律師（53歲）、車宏（別名陳朱莉∕49歲）、Freddy Jacobs律師（63歲）、辦公室經理楊Fnu（別名Daisy）、王約翰律師（32歲）、黃德金律師助理（別名黃叔或老黃∕60歲）、王建恩部門經理（46歲），翻譯陳蓮娜（24歲）、翻譯張勇（別名湯姆∕38歲）、翻譯羅訟（34歲）、翻譯楊獻軍（58歲）、王澤員（別名Steve∕32歲）、陸旭辦公室經理（42歲）、王歡（40歲）、宗教訓練員林立英（29歲）、辦公室主任徐小峰（57歲）及辦公室經理溫霞平（49歲）等。

根據起訴書，嫌犯Ken Giles將面臨最高15年監禁的刑罰，嫌犯Freddy Jacobs面臨的最高刑罰是25年監禁。林立英（音譯，Liying Lin）面臨的最高刑罰是35年監禁。王約翰（John Wang）等四名被告中的兩名面臨最高20年監禁。其餘19名被告面對的最高刑罰是五年監禁。