Three Sacramento-area immigration consulting outfits are staring down fraud lawsuits that claim they blurred the line between paperwork help and full-blown legal work, leaving vulnerable clients holding the bag.
Two attorneys with the Immigrant Rights Defense Council have sued Professional Immigration Services, Filatova Immigration Consulting and Manning & Sutfin, accusing them of misleading marketing and unauthorized practice of law that allegedly exposed customers to financial loss and immigration trouble.
According to Abridged, two of the named businesses have denied the allegations. Manning & Sutfin did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment, and public records indicate the company’s state registration appears to have lapsed back in 2006.
What the Lawsuits Say
The complaints argue that the three firms crossed legal lines by offering what amounts to federal immigration-law services without the required licenses and by advertising in ways that obscure the fact they are not attorneys…