ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — A Chicago-area family trusted a person posing as an immigration lawyer to help free their father, who is being detained by ICE. They said thousands of dollars were stolen in their desperation. The scam might be targeting others fighting for the freedom of loved ones.
Sitting in the Romeoville home they share with their parents and siblings, Delia Davila and her sister Silvia have spent countless hours trying to get their father, Roberto, freed from ICE custody after his arrest on Oct. 19, when he was pulled over on the side of the road on his way back from buying groceries in Bolingbrook.
“There was no warrant. There was nothing against my dad,” Delia Davila said. “So he asked them, ‘Why are you taking me?’ And one of them told him, ‘Because it’s the law.'”
Originally from Peru, the Davilas are asylum seekers and in the country legally. It was with that certainty they reached out to whom they believed to be an attorney advertising their services on Facebook.
“This person said we could request a federal judge, a bond hearing, and if he’s approved we’d have to pay a bond release,” Davila said.
Communicating with who they thought was the attorney’s assistant via What’s App, dozens of messages were exchanged over a period of days. The family was even given a filled-out DHS form establishing their legal representation.
“She made us first pay $850 through Zelle,” Davila said. “She asked for my dad’s driver’s license, passport, social security, bank statements… She told us we were going to be expedited, because I have a brother who is 15 years old and he is autistic.”
A few days later, they received what appears to be a notice from the Justice Department with an online court date scheduled for Oct. 31
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“She saw a person saying they were the federal judge,” Davila said. “On the other side somebody saying they were the DHS representative and the lawyer that we hired.”
Twenty minutes into the fake hearing, they received the news they were hoping for.
“My dad was granted the bond release. And that we had to pay $6,800,” Davila said. “And we had to do it in 24 hours. And we had to do it through the lawyer because she was supposed to be his sponsor.”
It wasn’t long before the family realized they had been scammed. But by then it was too late.
The American Bar Association confirmed a document purporting to be an attorney contract and this receipt, both on ABA letterhead, are fakes.
They have also issued an alert warning others to beware of:
-Direct solicitation through social media or WhatsApp
-Requests to pay fees through mobile payment platforms
They said the ABA generally does not charge for legal services.
For the Davilas, it was a lesson learned the hard way, as they still work to get their father released. They have set up a GoFundMe page.
‘My prayers are with all the immigrant community and we know in the end we will see the light,” Davila said.
You can seek reputable legal assistance through the Immigration Advocates Network and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
