AUSTIN, Texas, July 6 (UPI) -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Tuesday announced a court has shut down a scam that defrauded numerous immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley.
Martha Uresti, who operated Uresti Immigration/Notary Services, was ordered to pay $200,000 in penalties for illegally representing herself as a lawyer who could help people process immigration cases before federal officials.
"This is another victory in our mission to rid Texas of unscrupulous individuals and businesses who attempt to amass fortunes on the backs of hardworking immigrants," the attorney general said.
Uresti sometimes charged more than $3,000 to individual families, promising them she would obtain immigration benefits for them. Often, she did little or no work to move a client's case forward, Abbott said.
Uresti obtained a notary public commission from the Texas secretary of state and used it to present herself to Spanish-speaking clients as a "notario publico," which in Latin America is an experienced attorney. She did not have a Texas law license, Abbott said.
