Legal resident loses thousands seeking citizenship to AI immigration attorney
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's a perfect storm, where online scammers use artificial intelligence to victimize vulnerable people out of thousands of dollars, with many getting taken for their life savings and immigrants are increasingly the target.
Not only is this a high-tech scam, but the people behind it are also using the identity of a real person without his knowledge to pull it off.
"Tengo dos días sin dormir," said Victor Hernandez, telling 7 On Your Side Investigates that he hasn't slept in days. He said his eyes have been glued to his phone, waiting to see what message comes next.
"Todos los documentos mios lo tienen," Hernandez said. "Me pueden ser una maldad."
"They have all my documents, they can do me a lot of harm," he said. "They have everything of mine."
Hernandez has lived and worked in The Bronx for more than a decade since moving from the Dominican Republic. He's a legal resident of the United States.
Hernandez says it's always been his dream to become an U.S. citizen. So when an ad by an immigration attorney popped up on social media, he called. It promised to help him become a citizen without having to take the official exam. The cost? $1,500.
But then more requests came to send more documents, like his social security card, his residency card, and more. It was always something new.
Each document meant more money, which he says he sent with Zelle.
In all, he said he spent $4,820. It was only after his wife suggested that things didn't seem right that they asked a friend for help. Together, they learned the ad was fake. It was AI-generated, but based off real immigration attorney Angel Leal from Miami, who says he had nothing to do with it.
"I'm extremely upset about it. Very disappointed," said Leal. "On the verge of almost trying to give up."
Leal says his identity has been cloned to create multiple fake profiles.
"It's impressive. It's my image most of the time, it's not my voice," Leal said.
As someone in the business of helping immigrants, Leal isn't happy about the fact that people are using his image to take advantage of them.
"I'm very angry. And it makes me feel like it's cheapening my life's work. I've been practicing law for 33 years, and a great part of that time has been advocating for immigrant rights," said Leal.
He said he first noticed a problem last fall and believes the AI-generated videos of him have been used to scam people like Hernandez across the country.
"We've taken down, I want to say, close to or over 8,000 fake profile videos," said Leal, adding, "Truthfully, that's only scratching the surface."
The Miami-based attorney says clearing his name has become a full-time job.
As for Hernandez, he says once he caught on to the scam, the people behind AI-generated scheme tried to extort even more money out of him.
"It's sophisticated. It's multiple actors. It's overseas. It's AI, and it got to the point where I had to alert the Florida bar that I've been a victim of identity theft," Leal said.
Hernandez filed reports with NYPD and federal law enforcement.
" Me afectó mucho," said Hernandez, meaning it affected him a lot.
He went on to say, "I'm behind on my rent and I owe two month's worth of electricity because I spent my money on that."
He worries what else could happen, since he sent all of his personal information to the scammers.
"There has to be some accountability because the same accountability that exists with the traditional media outlets, needs to exist on these social media platforms, so that people are protected from these frauds."
Leal says you should not hire an attorney based on social media. Do your research and meet them in person. He says a big red flag is anytime an attorney asks for payment over a cash sending app.
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