TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services played a critical role in an investigation that resulted in a Cuban national pleading guilty to alien smuggling, asylum fraud, and money laundering. According to court documents, Yuniel Lima-Santos, 31, of Tampa, Florida, conspired with others to operate an alien smuggling organization that encouraged thousands of Cuban aliens to enter the United States using fraudulent Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications and visa waivers. The defendants advertised their smuggling services and bogus visa services across multiple social media platforms to solicit Cuban nationals and other aliens to attempt to illegally enter the United States and fraudulently obtain lawful status in the United States.
The organization’s advertised services included assisting Cubans in making false claims of European citizenship to enter…
Scammers capitalize on major disasters or heart-wrenching stories to solicit donations for non-existent charities. They often use names that are very similar to well-known, legitimate organizations to confuse donors.