South Windsor Woman Enters Plea In Immigration Fraud Case

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — A Connecticut woman has entered a plea in a federal immigration fraud case.

Leonard C. Boyle, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Khatija Khan, 40, of South Windsor, entered a guilty plea Friday before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to offenses related to a scheme through which people seeking immigration services were defrauded.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Khan and her husband operated Jllas Corp., and Eimann LLC, companies were created to provide services to clients involved in proceedings with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case records show that, between approximately May 2015 and January 2018, Khan and her husband recruited clients who sought some form of immigration status, relief or benefit. Many of the clients were aliens residing in the U.S. without legal status and had limited education, a limited ability to understand English and little to no knowledge of the documents that Khan and her husband were filing with USCIS on their behalf, according to case records.

Khan represented herself as an attorney with a background in immigration matters, even though she was not an lawyer, Boyle said.

Khan and her husband prepared petitions and applications for their clients that contained information they knew to be false and also fabricated false documents to support their clients' applications with USCIS without their clients' knowledge. Boyle added. They mailed, or "caused to be mailed," the fraudulent applications and documents to USCIS, where they were received and made part of the official Alien file of each respective client, Boyle said.

Many of Khan’s clients received no relief from USCIS despite paying her and her husband significant amounts of money, according to case records. To generate fees from clients, Khan filed applications with USCIS even when the submissions lacked merit or a legitimate basis, Boyle said.

Khan and her husband were arrested on Dec. 19, 2019. After her arrest, Khan continued to defraud multiple clients, Boyle said.

Victims identified to date lost a total of $326,212 as a result of the scheme, Boyle said.

Khan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of mail fraud, each of which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for Feb. 11, 2022.

Khan is released on a $50,000 bond, pending sentencing.