A Grenadian national faces up to seven years in jail after he appeared in a court here charged with several offences related to his work with three undocumented Caribbean immigrants who had sought his services to process work permits and green card applications.
James Archibald, 55, is due to return to court on August 8 for sentencing.
“This defendant is accused of preying on some of the most vulnerable members of our society, who were victimized as they attempted to comply with federal laws,” said New York District Attorney, Eric Gonzalez.
“I am committed to protecting all Brooklyn residents, regardless of their status, and caution everyone to be careful who they hire when seeking immigration services,” he added.
Archibald was arraigned Monday night before Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Joseph McCormack on a 10-count criminal complaint.
He is accused of grand larceny, scheme to defraud, immigration assistance services fraud and related charges for allegedly stealing US$8,520 from the three undocumented Caribbean immigrants.
Gonzalez said that between October 2016 and May 2018, the defendant, who was the owner of a company called US Caribbean and Asian Development Organization, allegedly stole US$8,520 from the three undocumented immigrants, “who paid him to process and expedite work permit and green card applications on their behalf with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services).
“The victims, who were from St. Kitts and Jamaica, met the defendant through mutual acquaintances,” Gonzalez said, adding “after receiving the payments, the victims repeatedly contacted the defendant; but he failed to provide the promised services, and they tried to get their money back.
“It is alleged that the defendant told the victims that, if they persisted in pursuing refunds, he would report them to USCIS. He also allegedly failed to return the passports of two victims,” Gonzalez said, noting that the investigation into the matter began in January after two of the unidentified victims filed complaints against Archibald with the District Attorney’s Action Center, which put them in contact with the District Attorney’s Immigrant Affairs Unit.
