DHS probes USCIS fees scam; law firm staff arrested

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking into complaints of several persons that their applications and fees for federal immigration benefits were not being filed by a law firm with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

As part of the investigation, ICE agents arrested over the weekend one suspect, Maria Nina Dolot Castro, on charges of mail fraud. Castro appeared without counsel at a hearing Sunday afternoon.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered the clerk to appoint a counsel for Castro and allowed her to post bail—a $5,000 unsecured bond—with some conditions.

Preliminary hearing will be on Sept. 16, 2011 at 10am.

ICE special agent Clayton T. Statler stated in his affidavit filed in court on Sunday that the Homeland Security Investigations resident agent on Saipan received information from a number of individuals that their applications and fees for federal immigration benefits were not being filed with the USCIS.

These individuals, Statler said, claimed to have used the legal services of attorney Danilo T. Aguilar.

He said some of the individuals complained that Castro, an employee of Aguilar, was not filing their applications and that she was using the USCIS fees they have provided with their applications for her personal use or to pay the fee for applications belonging to other people.

Statler said that, on Friday, Aug. 26, Norlane Arlene Vargas Rafanan, one of the complainants, met him and HSI special agent Isra Harahap to discuss and provide documents of her encounters with Castro.

Mrs. Rafanan stated that she and her husband, Reynaldo Rafanan, submitted two immigration applications for their two children to Castro, who at the time, worked in Aguilar’s Law Offices. The applications were to adjust the status of their two children to lawful permanent residents.

Mrs. Rafanan signed the immigration applications on Oct. 20, 2009, and submitted them to Castro. After seven days, Mrs. Rafanan gave Castro five U.S. Postal Service money orders in the amounts of $1,000, $355, $600, $10, and $355 to pay the USCIS fees associated with the applications.

The payee (“pay to”) and payor (“from”) fields of the money orders were blank because Castro told Mrs. Rafanan that she would complete these fields for Mrs. Rafanan.

In January of 2010, Castro informed Mrs. Rafanan that Castro sent the two immigration applications to USCIS on Jan. 28, 2010.

The following month, Mrs. Rafanan called Castro to inquire about the status of the two immigration applications again. Castro told her that one of the employees sent the applications to the wrong address and the applications were returned on Feb. 16, 2010.

In April 2010, Mrs. Rafanan received a phone call from Castro telling her that she was talking with her boss, Aguilar, and that Aguilar said Mrs. Rafanan needed to sign a new I-485 form (application to adjust status) because there is a new form.

On April 14, 2010, Mrs. Rafanan received the new I-485 form from Castro.

Statler said sometime after January 2011, Mrs. Rafanan asked for proof from Castro that the two applications, along with the five money orders, were sent to USCIC. In response, Statler said, Castro provided Mrs. Rafanan with a copy of a USPS express mail parcel label displaying tracking number.

When Mrs. Rafanan followed up with USPS about the status of the five money orders, Statler said the results indicated that the $1,000 money order was made payable to “Ma Nina D. Castro” and the payor was listed as “Joji T. Pamintuan.” The remaining four money orders indicated the payor as the “Law Offices of Danilo T. Aguilar,” and the payee as the “Dept. of Homeland Security.”

In March, Statler said, Mr. Rafanan confronted Castro about the $1,000 money order that was made payable to “Ma Nina D. Castro.” Castro stated that she didn’t know what he was talking about and she would check into it. At Rafanans’ request, Castro provided the couple with receipts for the five money orders that they submitted to Castro.

Statler said the receipts all indicated that they were made payable to the “Dept. of Homeland Security” and were from the “Law Offices of Danilo T. Aguilar.”

Castro told Mr. Rafanan that one of the Rafanans applications was in the USCIS computer system. Mrs. Rafanan stated that she followed up with USCIS and USCIS told her that the applications for her two children were not in the USCIS computer system.

Statler said he obtained information from USPS and USCIS that Rafanan’s two applications were not in the USCIS computer database and have not been received by USCIS.

“I also learned that four of the five money orders were received by USCIS but that they were included in applications for people other than the Rafanan’s two children,” Statler said.

The special agent said he further learned that the fifth money order for $1,000 was made payable to Castro from a payee named Joji T. Pamintuan.

In addition, Statler said his investigation revealed that the four money orders were received by USCIS on Dec. 21, 2009.