Prosecutors say a Houston man who claimed to be an immigration attorney pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars from illegal clients over a two-year period.
According to the Southern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office, Jesus Carlos Silva, 58, purported to be an immigration attorney and promised assistance to those seeking citizenship between March 2022 and December 2024.
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An investigation revealed that Silva charged consumers thousands of dollars for aid in obtaining legal immigration status, despite never really providing services. And it wasn’t only in Houston.
“Silva instructed several individuals to travel to Houston for fake appointments with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When they arrived, there were no appointments,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in their press release. “He admitted to stealing more than $1.45 million from over 100 people, most of whom lived in Houston and Chicago. Others were from Texas, Illinois, Louisiana, and Florida.”
Silva is due to be sentenced in late September 2025, and he faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.
Prosecutors said the 58-year-old will stay on bond until his sentencing.
