Fake Lawyer Had More Victims Than Realized, Police Say

DULUTH, GA — A man who pretended to be a lawyer to scam people seeking immigration help had more victims than was first realized, Gwinnett County Police say.

Investigators have learned that the man, whom police are trying to identify, had "many more victims" than they knew about when a lookout was issued for him last week, Gwinnett Police said on Monday.

The man goes by the alias of Juan Manuel Pineda Cruz, among several others, police have said.

They said at the time he had taken more than $30,000 from his victims while falsely posing as an immigration attorney.

"On behalf of the Gwinnett County Police Department, we would like to reiterate that regardless of a victim’s immigration status, we urge anyone who was scammed by this suspect to come forward with information about the incident," Gwinnett County detective Nermin Cultarevic said in a news release. "Our objective is to stop this suspect from continuing to victimize and exploit individuals seeking legal status in this country."

Victims who have come forward since last week have said they had been reluctant to do so because of their immigration status, police said.

In addition to approaching potential victims in Gwinnett County, investigators have learned that the man had a vendor stand at the Pendergrass Flea Market, just north of Gwinnett along Interstate 85 in Jackson County.

On December 13, a victim told police the man introduced himself as an immigration attorney practicing in metro Atlanta. He sounded well-versed in immigration law, said the victim, who paid him more than $6,000 to help have several of his family members to the United States legally.

That never happened, the victim said, and the suspect stopped communicating with the victim.

On January 30, police learned of two other victims who were allegedly scammed by the man. They said he told them he was an immigration attorney who could bring immigrants from Mexico to the United States legally as well as legalize anyone's immigration status.

The victims paid him more than $20,000 to help gain legal status for 18 foreign workers from Latin America. After several months went by and no progress was made, the suspect stopped taking the victims' phone calls.

In one recent case, police say, a victim secretly made a video recording of the suspect. Here is that video:

Photos courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department