Chester County Woman Charged In $1 Million Immigration Fraud Scheme
Monday, August 4, 2025, 6:45 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- A 65-year-old Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, woman, and the owner of Immigration Matters Legal Services, operating in Oxford, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody and charged by federal indictment with bilking undocumented immigrants out of nearly $1 million during a years-long immigration fraud scheme.
According to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, a Federal Grand Jury for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned an indictment charging Fatima DeMaria, 65, of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, with eight counts of Asylum Fraud; and eight counts of Mail Fraud.
DeMaria was taken into custody and processed on the charges, pending future court proceedings in Federal Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
According To The Charging Information Filed In The Indictment
According to the charging information unsealed in the indictment, it is alleged that DeMaria falsely represented herself to clients and prospective clients as an immigration attorney who could help undocumented aliens obtain employment authorization or “Work Permits.” However, DeMaria was not a licensed attorney nor authorized by the Executive Office for Immigration Review to represent individuals in immigration proceedings.
The indictment further alleges that beginning in and around December 2021 and lasting through July 2024, DeMaria prepared and caused to be prepared fraudulent Form-I-589 asylum applications in her clients’ names, without their knowledge or consent, knowingly making, and aiding and abetting the making of false statements in the I-589 asylum application.
It is alleged that DeMaria stated on each asylum application that the applicant was seeking asylum or withholding of removal based on the false claim of “Political Opinion” and “Torture Convention.” In fact, her clients were not seeking asylum based on either of those categories and had never informed DeMaria or anyone at Immigration Matters Legal Services of facts that could make them eligible for asylum under either of those two categories. DeMaria then placed her clients’ signatures on the I-589 asylum applications, certifying under penalty of perjury that the information was accurate and correct without her clients’ consent or knowledge.
It is also alleged that DeMaria and those acting at her direction failed to advise clients that the mechanism through which she would help them obtain work permits from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was by filing false I-589 asylum applications. Nor did DeMaria advise clients that their applications had been rejected, resulting in her clients being placed in removal proceedings, at which point the filing of a baseless claim could jeopardize their eligibility for future immigration claims.
According to the indictment, DeMaria would charge her clients between $6,000 to $9,000 per individual, and $12,000 to $15,000 per couple, for purported legal services in conjunction with their applications. She would have her clients pay her in cash or via peer-to-peer transactions that were directly deposited into her personal bank accounts, hundreds of thousands of dollars of which were withdrawn at casinos.
If convicted at trial, DeMaria faces a maximum of 240 years in federal prison and a $4 million fine. She will also be ordered to forfeit the money she received through the course of her fraud, which is around $1 million.
“The rules of the federal court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
