LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Las Vegas police arrested a woman who allegedly posed as an attorney and collected thousands of dollars in fees for fraudulent immigration and asylum applications.
Oana Rodriguez-Ochoa is facing nearly a dozen charges, including nine counts of obtaining money under false pretenses and a charge of practicing law without a license. According to court documents, the Executive Officer for Immigration Review first referred a fraud complaint regarding the suspect to the Nevada Attorney General’s Office in June 2022.
In September 2022, a criminal investigator called a business owned by the suspect and was told that an attorney worked at the office. The investigator contacted the state bar and learned that Rodriguez-Ochoa had never been licensed to practice law in the state.
Interviews with multiple witnesses revealed that they reportedly paid the suspect thousands of dollars to complete and file applications for asylum in immigration court. The initial complaint alleged that Rodriguez-Ochoa submitted at least 30 such applications from individuals from Cuba to the immigration court in Las Vegas. Investigators said all of the applications had the same handwriting and did not disclose the use of a third-party preparer.
Interviews with witnesses who allegedly paid the suspect for her services continued into the fall of 2023. On or about September 7, 2023, Rodriguez-Ochoa agreed to meet with investigators, who said she “appeared to be evasive with her answers.”
Investigators secured a search warrant for her place of business and confirmed that she had been operating it between May 1, 2022 and August 29, 2023. On December 1, 2023, investigators drove by the location and saw that “all signage outside of the business had been removed and the inside office appeared to be vacated.”
Rodriguez-Ocha has an appearance in Clark County Justice Court set for June 11.
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