A Los Angeles paralegal faces sentencing Monday for participating in a scheme to violate U.S. immigration laws by preparing and filing bogus documents that sought permanent residency and citizenship for members of a Philippines-based church.
Maria De Leon, 77, a resident of the Koreatown neighborhood and the owner of a legal document service, pleaded guilty in 2022 to a single federal conspiracy charge, which carries a sentence of up to five years behind bars.
The defendant admitted her part in the scheme with administrators of the church, which is known as the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, according to her plea agreement, which says De Leon is cooperating in the government’s case.
De Leon acknowledged that for eight years, she helped commit marriage and visa fraud with the leaders of the KOJC, which had a compound in Van Nuys.
De Leon was one of nine defendants charged in November 2021 in a 42-count superseding indictment that alleges a labor trafficking scheme that used fraudulently obtained visas to bring KOJC members to the United States, where prosecutors believe they were forced to solicit donations for a bogus charity.
The donations were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Members who proved successful at soliciting were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to acquire legal status in the U.S. so they could continue soliciting donations, the indictment alleges.
The indictment also alleges a sex trafficking scheme that implicates KOJC’s founder and leader, Apollo Quiboloy, a self-styled “appointed son of God.” Quiboloy, who is wanted by the FBI, was arrested in the Philippines two years ago on sexual abuse and human trafficking charges.