Immigration scam artist to be sentenced in March

BY GUSTAVUS MCLEOD

A Virginia attorney convicted of cheating thousands of area immigrants out of more than $20 million will be sentenced in March. Samuel G. Kooritzky, 64, was convicted in December 2002 of conspiracy, labor certification fraud, making false statements, immigration fraud, and money laundering

Kooritzky headed an immigration scam through his Capital Law Centers, which had offices in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Langley Park. The company placed advertisements in newspapers of local immigrant communities guaranteeing work certification for customers, which could then be used to apply for permanent residence in the U.S.

Area Latinos and Asians were the main victims of KooritzkyÕs scam, in which immigrants paid from $8,000 to $30,000 for work certification applications and Kooritzky and his partners forged documentation. They falsely wrote letters and signatures purportedly from area restaurant managers, saying that the restaurants agreed to sponsor immigrants for work positions because they could not find U.S. citizens for the jobs. The restaurants claim to know nothing of this arrangement.

According to the U.S. AttorneyÕs office, KooritzkyÕs case is one of the largest work certification frauds ever to be prosecuted. The Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) received more than 2,700 illegal work applications as a result of the scam. Kooritzky filed the applications with the INS over an 18-month period. Some of these led to successful applications for green cards.

Three other people were convicted in the case: Ronald Bogardus, a former fire and safety engineer for the State Department; and two employees of KooritzkyÕs Capital Law Center, Inderjeet Kaur and Carolina Trana.

During his trial in December 2002, Kooritzky claimed that Bogardus created the scam and forged all the restaurant documents. He claimed to have no knowledge of the forgeries. The fraudulent applications included hundreds of work authorizations for the same restaurant. Kooritzky and his partners forged over 200 letters offering work in the kitchen of one area ShoneyÕs restaurant.

According to the U.S. AttorneyÕs office for the Eastern District of Virginia, KooritzkyÕs conviction is the latest in a joint investigation of the Deparment of Labor, Department of State, Internal Revenue Service, and the INS to crack down on illegal immigration schemes. It is part of an attempt since September 11th to deny terrorists illegal admission to the U.S.

"We have learned from the attacks of September 11 that identity and immigration fraud are part of the terroristsÕ playbook," said Paul McNulty, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "This case illustrates the commitment of this office to protect the integrity of AmericaÕs identification, document, and immigration procedures."

The U.S. Attorney for Virginia is currently involved in two high-profile terrorism-related cases: Zaccharias Moussaoui, the suspected "20th hijacker" and co-conspirator of the September 11 attacks; and John Walker Lindh, the American caught fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Kooritzky faces up to ten years in prison and a forfeiture of over $2 million. His sentencing is set for March 7.