"Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of
Missouri, announced today that the owner and two managers of a Sedalia,
Mo., business have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their
roles in a conspiracy to defraud consumers who purchased immigration
forms that were available at no charge from the federal government.
Thomas Joseph Strawbridge, 49, Thomas Barret Laurence, also
known as Thomas Barnes, Thomas Laurente and Thomas Johnson, 30, and
Elizabeth Lindsey Meredith, 24, all formerly of Sedalia, were charged
in a 14-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in
Jefferson City, Mo., on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. That indictment was
unsealed and made public today upon Strawbridge’s arrest and initial
court appearance.
According to the federal indictment, Strawbridge founded and
owned Immigration Forms and Publications (IFP) in Sedalia. Laurence
managed the day-to-day operations of IFP and Meredith assisted
Laurence.
The indictment alleges that, from March 2009 to April 2011,
Strawbridge, Laurence and Meredith participated in a conspiracy to
defraud consumers who were seeking assistance with immigration-related
matters by inducing them to purchase government immigration forms that
were available from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
at no charge. They allegedly gave consumers the false impression that
the company was affiliated with the federal government and that sales
representatives were government agents.
IFP advertised immigration services on the Internet, the
indictment says, particularly through search engines such as Google.
Web sites directed consumers to call a toll-free number, where they
were connected to IFP sales representatives, including Laurence and
Meredith. IFP sales representatives allegedly answered calls by saying
“agent” followed by their first name. IFP employees, in subsequent
conversations with customers, allegedly referred to a sales
representative as an “immigration agent.”
Sales representatives spoke with potential customers and
attempted to determine which government form best matched each caller’s
immigration situation. According to the indictment, these sales
representatives had no particular expertise in immigration matters and
sometimes sent customers the wrong form for their situation. Other
customers allegedly received none of the promised assistance from IFP
in completing their immigration forms.
IFP sales representatives, including Laurence and Meredith,
allegedly made materially false statements to customers, including
claims that IFP handled excess call volume related to immigration
matters for USCIS, that fees paid to IFP included government
application and processing fees, and that forms purchased through IFP
would be processed more quickly than if customers dealt directly with
USCIS.
According to the indictment, IFP sales representatives
explained that the company would send the forms via FedEx to the
customer’s address and help the customer correctly fill out the forms.
The customer would pay IFP up front by giving a money order to FedEx
upon receipt of the forms. IFP sales representatives allegedly quoted
prices for the various immigration forms that were the same or similar
to government processing fees for the same forms. For example, the USCIS
fee to process an Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (I-90
form) was $290. IFP charged $290 to send customers an I-90 form,
according to the indictment.
Many customers who sent their forms to USCIS were surprised
to learn that the fees they already paid IFP did not cover government
processing charges. None of the money that customers sent to IFP went
toward government processing fees, the indictment says, and IFP sales
representatives did not inform consumers that USCIS routinely charged
processing fees, which they would be required to pay in addition to IFP
charges.
In addition to the conspiracy, Strawbridge, Laurence and
Meredith are charged with six counts of mail fraud and seven counts of
wire fraud.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which
would require Strawbridge, Laurence and Meredith to forfeit to the
government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged
violations.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this
indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence
supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose
duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Anthony P. Gonzalez and Trial Attorneys Alan Phelps and Adrienne Fowler
of the U.S. Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch. It was
investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the
Missouri Secretary of State Corporate Division, the Missouri Secretary
of State Securities Division and the Missouri Attorney General’s
Office." - DOJ, Feb. 21, 2012.