Claudia Arreola, owner of California Immigration Services, and business associate Leticia Gutierrez were indicted for submitting fraudulent green card applications with fabricated I-94 entry records on behalf of immigrants, building on a 2003 California AG injunction both had previously violated.

California Immigration Services — Notario Fraud, Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law (2006–2013)

Outcome: Claudia Arreola and Leticia Gutierrez were indicted by federal grand jury for submitting fraudulent permanent resident applications with fabricated immigration entry documents; Arreola faced up to 21 months in federal prison and restitution under $78,000, while Gutierrez received probation with community service.

California Immigration Services (CIS) was operated by Claudia Arreola, 35, of El Monte, California. Arreola and her business associate Leticia Gutierrez, 35, of Pico Rivera, operated as unauthorized immigration consultants — so-called "notarios" — charging immigrants for legal services neither was licensed to provide.

This case had a prior enforcement history. In 2003, the California Attorney General filed suit against both Arreola and Gutierrez for providing unauthorized immigration services in violation of California law. Both entered consent agreements promising not to engage in illegal immigration consulting services. Despite these agreements, in 2006 the defendants resumed operations under the name California Immigration Services.

From 2006 through approximately 2013, Arreola and Gutierrez submitted fraudulent applications to USCIS on behalf of foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent resident status based on marriages to U.S. citizens. The applications included fabricated I-94 arrival/departure records falsely indicating that immigrants who had entered the country illegally had instead entered lawfully on visitor visas — a material misrepresentation that could have caused the applicants to be deported or barred from future legal status.

The investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) following leads from USCIS's Fraud Detection and National Security directorate identifying suspicious benefit applications. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Primary Source: L.A.-Area 'Notarios' Indicted In Scheme That Filed Fraudulent Green Card Applications