Chicago psychiatrist and counselor indicted for citizenship fraud

CHICAGO — A psychiatrist and counselor in a Chicago medical practice were both arrested Thursday on charges they falsely diagnosed individuals as disabled in order to help them bypass certain tests to obtain U.S. citizenship.

This indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon, Northern District of Illinois; James Gibbons, acting special agent-in-charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; and Michael J. Anderson, special agent-in-charge of FBI’s Chicago office.

According to an indictment returned last month in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Dr. Marek Walczyk and Katarzyna Fergemann fraudulently declared U.S. citizenship applicants as suffering from a physical or mental impairment that purportedly rendered them unable to demonstrate the required knowledge of U.S. history and the English language. A medical certification of impairment allows individuals to seek an exemption from the civics and English-language tests required for naturalized U.S. citizenship.

Federal authorities arrested Walczyk and Fergemann Thursday. During an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez, Walczyk and Fergemann pleaded not guilty and were released on $15,000 unsecured appearance bonds.

Walczyk, 59, of Norridge, Illinois, and Fergemann, 38, of Chicago, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and two counts of attempted unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization. The conspiracy count is punishable by up to five years in prison, while the attempted unlawful procurement counts each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Walczyk is a licensed psychiatrist who operates a medical practice on the northwest side of Chicago. Fergemann is employed by the practice as a licensed counselor. According to the indictment, Fergemann prepared a written report stating that she administered diagnostic testing procedures on an individual seeking to apply for U.S. citizenship.  Fergemann also stated that the tests revealed the individual suffered from a social anxiety disorder, panic disorder and major depressive disorder, as well as a learning impairment resulting from those conditions. Fergemann issued the report knowing that the individual did not suffer from a physical or mental impairment, the indictment states.

Walczyk fraudulently certified Fergemann’s results as true and correct on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form N-648, titled “Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions,” the indictment states. The false certification allowed the individual to request a physical or mental impairment exception to the civics and English-language tests required for U.S. citizenship, according to the indictment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Fluhr, Northern District of Illinois, is prosecuting this case.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.