Phony lawyer charged with scamming immigrants in US

September 14, 2015 11:51 AM
PHILADELPHIA, United States, Monday September 14, 2015 – A South Jersey man has been charged for operating a fake immigration law practice for 12 years, defrauding at least 74 victims, including Jamaican immigrants.
 
Leaford George Cameron is facing mail fraud, wire fraud and false statement charges for the fraud scheme, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) authorities are seeking any additional “clients” who could have been victimized by the alleged imposter attorney.
 
Cameron, 62, allegedly operated his fake law practices out of his home in Burlington, New Jersey. The indictment alleges that from 2003 through 2015, Cameron operated the practice, where he pretended to be a lawyer in order to defraud “clients” who paid him for what they believed was legitimate legal representation.
 
His victims were residents of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Jamaica and India.
 
“The longevity of Cameron’s alleged fraud, the amount of victims already identified, and far reaching impact in this case is staggering,” said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge for HSI Philadelphia.
 
“HSI will continue to investigate and seek out those who may have fallen prey to this alleged imposter’s scheme. We encourage anyone with any contact with this person to contact us right away.”
 
Cameron operated a fake law firm, appeared and spoke in court as the lawyer representing his victims, and filed various legal motions and forms in his victims’ cases in which he indicated – often under the penalty of perjury – that he was an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
 
He used four separate Pennsylvania attorney identification numbers when filing legal forms, all of which belonged to other actual licensed Pennsylvania attorneys.
 
Cameron fraudulently represented clients in various legal matters, primarily immigration matters pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice.
 
If convicted of all charges, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 75 years in prison, up to US$1.5 million in fines, three years of supervised release, and a $600 special assessment.
 
It’s not the first time Cameron has pretended to offer legal services. He made headlines back in 2003 for impersonating a lawyer.
 
Caribbean 360

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