Jul. 2, 2025 By sobrien
Council Member Julie Won. Courtesy of NYC Council Media Unit/John McCarten.
July 2, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
The New York City Council has passed legislation introduced by Queens Council Member Julie Won and Brooklyn Council Member Shahana Hanif, aiming to combat immigration legal services fraud, whereby predatory actors exploit the fears of immigrant communities by offering false promises of legal services.
Legislators said the practice, known as “notarial fraud,” can result in victims paying thousands of dollars for legal services that often leave them worse off.
Advocates said the “long-standing issue” has worsened considerably with the influx of new arrivals in New York City.
Intro 980A, introduced by Won, doubles penalties for “egregious violations” of the city’s rules governing immigration assistance services. Egregious violations for prohibited conduct can include the unauthorized practice of law or threatening to report a customer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Won said she introduced the legislation after numerous constituents contacted her office to inform her that they had been victims of predatory immigration services and scammed out of thousands of dollars.
The law also increases fines for immigration assistance service providers that do not comply with applicable requirements, such as the requirement to execute a written contract with customers, the requirement to include specific language in signage and advertisements and the requirement to retain documents.
Under the new law, the civil penalty for offenses would be at least $5,000 and no more than $10,000 for a first violation, rising from $3,750 and $7,500, respectively. For each succeeding violation, the penalty would be a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $15,000.
For any violations related to guaranteeing particular governmental actions on advertisements, the civil penalties would be between $7,500 and $10,000 for a first-time violation and between $18,000 and $20,000 for any subsequent violation.
According to the law, any immigration assistance service providers who advertise services must post or include with the advertisement a legally required notice of the services they are not authorized to provide.
Won said the law would help combat a rise in fake lawyers and predatory providers.
“It is deplorable to overcharge and mislead desperate community members searching for a legal pathway to citizenship,” Won said in a statement. “With the passage of Int. 980-A, fake lawyers and predatory providers will now receive double the civil penalties for serious violations of NYC’s laws for Immigration Assistance Services.”
Council Member Shehana Hanif. Courtesy of NYC Council Media Unit/John McCarten.
Hanif, meanwhile, introduced Intro 205A, which will require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media, and other appropriate agencies to work collaboratively to educate immigrant communities about common immigration-related scams.
The education and outreach campaign will be conducted in all designated city-wide languages and temporary languages.
The campaign will also include guidance on how to identify and avoid common fraudulent schemes, information on credible immigration legal service providers, and how to report fraud using DCWP’s complaint mechanisms.
Hanif stated that federal immigration policies have created fear and anxiety among New York’s immigrant communities, adding that bad actors often seek to exploit that anxiety. She said data from the DCWP highlights that the problem has increased significantly in recent years.
“The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have generated anxiety and confusion among immigrant communities. Bad actors often exploit these vulnerabilities through fraudulent practices, charging high fees and sometimes even sabotaging ongoing immigration cases,” Hanif stated.
Both Won and Hanif stated that the measures target the most significant laws passed in the US to target “notario fraud.”
“Today NYC is passing the most comprehensive and aggressive laws in the nation to protect immigrants from ‘notario fraud,'” Won said in a statement Monday.
Council Member Shekar Krishnan, who co-sponsored both pieces of legislation, said the laws would have a huge impact on communities in the diverse immigrant neighborhoods of his district, including Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Woodside.
“This legislation will protect them from scammers, allow them to navigate the legal system more easily, and ensure they get quality legal assistance,” Krishnan said in a statement.
Council Member Sandra Ung, who also supported the legislation, said the laws would help protect immigrant communities against people who view heightened anxiety as an opportunity to exploit vulnerable members of the community.
“They offer so-called immigration ‘services’ that are deceptive at best and outright fraudulent at worst, charging people thousands of dollars for promises they can’t keep and paperwork that won’t help,” Ung said. “Regardless of immigration status, all New Yorkers deserve access to legal services that are trustworthy, transparent, and grounded in a real understanding of the law.”
A number of immigration services also praised the Council for passing both pieces of legislation, including Catholic Migration Services, which provides a wide range of services to immigrants of all faiths.
Magdalena Barbosa, the organization’s senior vice president and director of legal services, applauded the Council for passing the legislation.
“The New York City Council understands that now, at a time of unprecedented fear and anxiety in immigrant communities, is the time to act to ensure immigrants understand the dangers of working with notarios and the importance of higher penalties to deter bad actors,” Barbosa said.