Federal immigration fraud unit probes 'Lawyer of Miracles' amid massive case backlog
U.S. immigration fraud investigators are interviewing complainants in a probe of Alexandra Lozano, the self-styled “Lawyer of Miracles,” while she remains missing and 54,000 of her cases sit unresolved.
A specialized immigration fraud unit of USCIS has opened a federal investigation into Alexandra Lozano, known as the “Lawyer of Miracles,” after complaints from clients who say she charged $10,000-$25,000 per case and filed applications that were unlikely to succeed. The agency’s Seattle agents are interviewing witnesses with the aim of presenting the case to a grand jury in the Western District of Washington. Two class-action lawsuits accuse Lozano of unjust enrichment, racketeering, malpractice and breach of contract, alleging she used client fees to buy a pink-painted Bombardier Challenger 300 jet, luxury condos in Seattle and Chicago, and properties in Mexico.
Lozano surrendered her license in May, which halted her practice and left roughly 54,000 immigration cases pending. Her attorney Angelo J. Calfo has rejected the claims and says she will respond in court, while attorneys for the plaintiffs warn that the stalled cases jeopardize thousands of immigrants amid heightened enforcement.
Why it matters
The probe could affect tens of thousands of pending immigration cases and expose large-scale fraud in legal services for migrants.
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