Woman sentenced for defrauding immigrants
Helen Kennedy, 61, given 2 years for role in $65,000 scheme
Helen Kennedy promised an Iranian man living in Norfolk she could help him obtain a work visa, and eventually a green card, if he agreed to pay her $65,000, according to court documents.
The man then made a series of payments beginning in August 2017, but the California woman did not work for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and never filed the paperwork on his behalf.
Kennedy, 61, was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday for running a scheme to defraud Iranian nationals she’d promised immigration benefits to, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
The defense had asked the court to consider home confinement instead of imprisonment because of Kennedy’s risk for complications from the coronavirus due to her age and underlying health conditions.
Court documents say that Kennedy, also known as Helen Abdi, fraudulently obtained funds totaling more than $120,000 from several clients across the country. The scheme stretched from June 2016 through January 2018, and involved her business, Professional U.S. Immigration Services.
She targeted Iranian nationals by advertising her immigration business in Iranian publications, television and online, according to court documents. All of her ads were placed in Farsi and she used her Iranian maiden name to advertise her business.
Kennedy falsely indicated to some of her clients that she was an immigration attorney even though she was not licensed to practice law in any state, according to court documents.
Court documents say she “never even attempted to file a single application with the USCIS” but continued to collect money, telling her clients that the benefits would be coming soon and that they “took a long time to process.”
Kennedy was charged with five counts of wire fraud for transfers sent through a Norfolk Bank of America totaling $40,000 over the course of two years. She pleaded guilty to the charges against her in January.