Manhattan Teacher Stole $40K From Immigrant Students In Green Card Scam

CHELSEA, NY — An English as a Second Language teacher pleaded guilty Monday for stealing more than $40,000 from student visa holders by falsely promising to provide them with Green Cards in exchange for cash payments, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced.

The teacher, Jenetta Ferguson, 59, of Queens worked at Micropower Career Institute at 137 W 25th St. in Chelsea. The technical school was raided by the feds in May 2014 on fraud charges due to visa scams, and was shut down soon after.

Ferguson told at least six foreign students that she could score them Green Cards for $8,500 to $10,500 per person. The students were staying in the U.S. on student visas and had originally come from Italy, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In total, Ferguson stole about $42,000 from the six students between March and September 2014, Vance said.

Ferguson never supplied the Green Cards, and never filled out applications on behalf of the students. In some instances, Ferguson discouraged the students from renewing their student visas, and these students were left without any adequate documentation once their visas expired.

“All New Yorkers—regardless of national origin or immigration status—deserve protection from those who prey upon their unfamiliarity with a new language and a complex legal system,” said Vance. “In this case, the defendant took advantage of her position as a teacher of English as a Second Language to mislead her foreign students into believing that she could provide them with Green Cards—for a fee."

Ferguson pleaded guilty in to Grand Larceny in the third and fourth degrees in the New York State Supreme Court. She will be sentenced March 7, Vance said.

According to CBS, five of Micropower Career Institute's administrators—including the vice president, president and CEO—were arrested on charges of student financial aid fraud, visa fraud and conspiracy in May 2014.

If you believe you may have been the victim of a similar crime, Vance urges people to call the Office’s Immigrant Affairs Hotline at 212-335-3600.

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