Three South Los Angeles relatives who were charged with scamming dozens of immigrants by unlawfully providing legal services for residency or work permits have been sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to pay more than $222,000 in restitution to 73 victims, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday.
Judith Gil, 70; her 67-year-old brother Oscar Mauricio Gil; and her 42-year-old daughter, Minerva Gil, are barred from contacting any of the 73 victims and from providing any legal, tax or other professional services unless properly licensed and bonded, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The three — who were sentenced Tuesday — conspired to illegally provide immigration services under the business name FJA and Associates and filed invalid political asylum cases for the victims, resulting in the victims being unknowingly processed for deportation, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Judith Gil pleaded guilty May 7 to four counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, three counts of grand theft and one count of extortion, while Oscar Gil pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and Minerva Gil pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and one count of grand theft, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The three — whose state prison sentences were suspended — could face time behind bars if they violate the terms of their probation.
“Our immigrant communities deserve reliable, credible services to enter the pathway to legally obtaining residency and citizenship, but instead the Gil family preyed on innocent Angelenos by not only stealing their money and livelihoods, but robbing them of the American Dream,” Gascón said in a statement.
The case against the three was filed in June 2021 following an investigation by the District Attorney’s Notario Fraud Unit, Consumer Protection Division and the L.A County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs.