Man Defrauded Bergen Family Of $100,000 In Immigration Scam: Prosecutor

A Georgia man has been arrested and charged with pretending to be an immigration lawyer and impersonating a law enforcement officer to defraud a Palisades Park family of more than $100,000, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday.

The Palisades Park Police Department received a complaint in March from a local resident that he had been enticed into giving Sung H. Lee, 31, $100,000 to help him and family members get permanent resident alien status, Grewal said in a press release.

A joint investigation by Palisades Park Police detectives and the prosecutor's White Collar Crimes Unit showed that Lee had identified himself as a military officer to the complainant, Grewal said. 

Lee told the victim he was working on loan to both the Palisades Park Police and the FBI and that he could use his connections to secure permanent alien status for the man and his family, Grewal said.

Lee also made fake legal immigration documents that showed he was associated with a United State-based learning center that could sponsor the complainant's immigration application, the prosecutor said. 

Lee collected fraudulent "fees" of more than $100,000 from the complainant, Grewal said, which he did not return, nor were any applications processed.

The Bergen County Central Municipal Court issued a warrant for Lee's arrest Tuesday; Lee was arrested and served with a copy of the warrant by detectives from Grewal's office that same day, the prosecutor said.

Lee was charged with theft by deception, impersonating a law enforcement officer, and unauthorized practice of immigration law, Grewal said. He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail, with no 10 percent cash option.

Lee's first appearance in Bergen County Central Municipal Court is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. July 6, Grewal said.

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PHOTO: Sung H. Lee, 31 — Bergen County Prosecutor's Office