Fatima DeMaria, 65, of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, has been arrested and charged by indictment with eight counts of asylum fraud and eight counts of mail fraud. The announcement was made by United States Attorney David Metcalf. DeMaria owns Immigration Matters Legal Services in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
According to the indictment, DeMaria represented herself as an immigration attorney to clients seeking work permits for undocumented immigrants. However, she was not a licensed attorney nor authorized by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to represent individuals in immigration proceedings.
The indictment states that from December 2021 through July 2024, DeMaria prepared fraudulent Form I-589 asylum applications in her clients’ names without their knowledge or consent. These applications falsely claimed that applicants were seeking asylum based on political opinion or the Torture Convention. “Her clients, however, were not seeking asylum based on either of these categories, and never informed DeMaria or anyone at Immigration Matters Legal Services of facts that could make them eligible for asylum under either of these categories,” according to the indictment.
It is also alleged that DeMaria placed her clients’ signatures on these forms without their knowledge and certified under penalty of perjury that the information provided was true. The indictment further claims that she did not inform her clients about filing frivolous asylum applications as a method to obtain work permits from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), nor did she warn them about possible removal proceedings if those applications were rejected or referred by USCIS.
DeMaria is accused of charging approximately $6,000-$9,000 per individual and $12,000-$15,000 per couple for her services related to these applications. The government alleges she received payments in cash or through peer-to-peer transactions deposited into personal accounts—hundreds of thousands of dollars from which were withdrawn at casinos.
If convicted on all charges, DeMaria faces up to 240 years in prison and a $4 million fine. Authorities are seeking forfeiture of at least $1 million they allege was gained illegally.
The FBI is leading the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; additional support came from USCIS, Diplomatic Security Service, and Coast Guard Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Solow and Eileen Castilla Geiger are prosecuting the case.
“This is an ongoing matter,” according to authorities who are asking anyone with information regarding Fatima DeMaria’s activities at Immigration Matters Legal Services to contact the FBI via online forms: Seeking Victim Information in Fatima DeMaria/Immigration Matters Investigation or Se Solicita Información en la Investigación de Fatima DeMaria/Immigration Matters.
“The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.”
