Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Andreea Dumitru, an immigration attorney based in Queens, New York, was found guilty Nov. 19 in Manhattan federal court of asylum fraud, making false statements to immigration authorities, and aggravated identity theft.
QNS News reports Dumitru, 43, of Queens, NY, knowingly made false statements and representations on more than 100 asylum applications. She was convicted of one count of asylum fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison.
According to the superseding indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and the evidence presented at trial, between March 27, 2013, and 2017, Dumitru operated a scheme to submit fraudulent I-589 Forms in connection with applications for asylum.
Specifically, Dumitru submitted over 100 applications in which she knowingly made false statements and representations about, among other things, the applicants’ personal narratives of alleged persecution, criminal histories, and travel histories.
Dumitru deliberately fabricated detailed personal stories of purported mistreatment of her clients, forged her clients’ signatures, and falsely notarized affidavits.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s General Crimes Unit. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress.
