Manhattan prosecutors say Edith Capellan told immigrants seeking work permits and green cards that she worked for the federal government.
On Oct. 14, District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Ms. Capellan, 54, of Bayonne, N.J. She is accused of stealing more than $25,000 from four people who hired her to help them through the immigration process. According to the office, she posed as an IRS agent, an immigration agent and an immigration services provider between 2024 and 2026.
The indictment, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, charges her with one count each of grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony; immigrant assistance services fraud in the first degree, a class E felony; and scheme to defraud in the first degree, also a class E felony.
The charges are allegations. Ms. Capellan is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty. Gothamist reported on Oct. 15 that her lawyer did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
The alleged scheme
The district attorney’s account is drawn from court documents and statements made on the record. It covers the period from May 23, 2024, to June 5, 2026.
Prosecutors say Ms. Capellan attracted clients by falsely claiming to be an IRS and immigration agent who could complete their immigration paperwork. They say she guaranteed positive results, including permanent residency and citizenship, and that the clients paid her thousands of dollars in upfront fees on the strength of that promise.
She then allegedly told the clients she had filed applications or taken other steps for them. When the clients followed up, prosecutors say, she refused to give them documents, receipt numbers or any other evidence that would have exposed the fraud.
Two details in the release stand out. In one instance, prosecutors say, Ms. Capellan asked a client to delete the messages they had exchanged. In another, she allegedly put one client’s personal identifying information on another client’s paperwork.
According to Gothamist, Xavier Martinez, chief of the district attorney’s Immigrant Affairs Unit, said Ms. Capellan allegedly met clients in uptown Manhattan.
The district attorney
“As alleged, Edith Capellan donned a cloak of legitimacy by impersonating federal agents,” Mr. Bragg said in a statement. “She allegedly took advantage of immigrants in need of legal assistance obtaining work permits, permanent residency, and United States citizenship. We allege that she pocketed $25,000 from the very people she promised to help.”
He went on: “Our investigation is ongoing – please call us at 212-335-3600 if you may be a victim, regardless of immigration status. Those who prey on New York’s vibrant immigrant population will be prosecuted.”
The office’s appeal was explicit about immigration status. Gothamist reported that Mr. Bragg said calls to his office’s immigrant affairs hotline had become less frequent in recent months. He attributed the drop to fear in immigrant communities of dealing with the government.
Advice from the district attorney
According to Gothamist, Mr. Bragg also offered advice. He said New Yorkers approached by purported immigration services providers with overly generous offers should pause and judge whether the person or institution is reliable. He urged extra caution with representatives of companies that have no brick-and-mortar office and want to deal only online.
“The general advice is if something feels or sounds too good to be true, just sort of take a beat,” he said.
Mr. Martinez added that residents can check whether someone is a registered lawyer in New York through the state’s online attorney directory.
The prosecution team
Assistant District Attorney Dennis Dillon of the Financial Frauds Bureau is handling the prosecution. He is supervised by Mr. Martinez; Kofi Sansculotte, chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; Judy Salwen, deputy chief of the Investigation Division; and Executive Assistant District Attorney Jodie Kane, chief of the Investigation Division.
Investigative Analyst Emely Salazar Perez and Immigrant Affairs Coordinator Selena Hernandez of the Financial Frauds Bureau are assisting with the investigation, along with Investigator Karissa Maldonado Madrid and Principal Financial Investigator Zerina Sejdaras. The release does not say how much each of the four clients paid, or how the case first came to the office’s attention.
Mr. Bragg thanked the NYPD, in particular Detective Diane Lopez of the Bronx Grand Larceny Squad.
If you were a client
The district attorney’s office says its investigation is continuing. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim can call 212-335-3600, regardless of immigration status.
Featured image: The Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building at 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan. Photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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