Imposter immigration attorney charged with defrauding clients
PHILADELPHIA – A South Jersey man was charged Thursday for operating a fake immigration law practice for years, defrauding at least 74 victims found through a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation.
Leaford George Cameron is facing mail fraud, wire fraud and false statement charges for the fraud scheme, and HSI authorities are seeking any additional “clients” who could have been victimized by the alleged imposter attorney.
Anyone who used the Cameron’s services should alert HSI investigators by calling: 215-717-4987.
Cameron, 62, allegedly operated his fake law practices out of his home in Burlington, New Jersey. The indictment alleges that from 2003 through 2015, Cameron operated the practice, where he pretended to be a lawyer in order to defraud the victim “clients” who paid him for what they believed was legitimate legal representation. His victims were residents of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Jamaica and India.
“The longevity of Cameron’s alleged fraud, the amount of victims already identified, and far reaching impact in this case is staggering,” said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge for HSI Philadelphia. “HSI will continue to investigate and seek out those who may have fallen prey to this alleged imposter’s scheme. We encourage anyone with any contact with this person to contact us right away.”
Pursuant to the charged scheme, Cameron operated a fake law firm, appeared and spoke in court as the lawyer representing his victims, and filed various legal motions and forms in his victims’ cases in which he indicated – often under the penalty of perjury – that he was an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Cameron used four separate Pennsylvania attorney identification numbers when filing legal forms, all of which belonged to other actual licensed Pennsylvania attorneys. Cameron fraudulently represented clients in various legal matters, primarily immigration matters pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice.
If convicted of all charges, the defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 75 years in prison, up to $1.5 million in fines, three years of supervised release, and a $600 special assessment.
The case was investigated by HSI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Petkun.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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