AUSTIN, Texas, March 1 (UPI) -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Monday called on Mexican and U.S. law officers to crackdown on scams aimed at immigrants in the United States.
At a meeting at Saltillo, Mexico, with Mexican Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha and seven other attorneys general, Abbott urged international cooperation in investigating the border crimes.
In Texas, scam artists pose as attorneys, immigration consultants or government officials to defraud immigrants who seek benefits such as work permits or permanent residency. In several cases, immigrants paid thousands of dollars and received nothing, he said.
Abbott said the scam artists also cross the border into Mexico to perpetrate the same schemes by falsely presenting themselves as attorneys. To date, Abbott has worked with local and federal prosecutors in Texas to bring criminal charges against three Texas businesses.
In February, Abbott prosecuted two women in the Rio Grande Valley who provided unauthorized immigration consulting services, sometimes charging thousands of dollars per consumer. Victims alleged the women did not fulfill promises to file documents as required.
