A Ronkonkoma woman was sentenced to two to four years in prison for stealing more than $40,000 from undocumented immigrants seeking assistance with legal matters over the course of four years by misrepresenting herself as an immigration attorney.
Between December 2015 and March 2020, Tania Gonzalez misrepresented herself as an immigration attorney to numerous undocumented immigrants seeking assistance, providing them with advice and giving them the impression that she had the expertise to assist them with their immigration problems. She also went by the name Tania Ayala in the past.
Gonzalez also told some victims that if they had been in the country for 10 years, they qualified for a 10-year visa, even if they had entered the country illegally. No such visa exists under Immigration Law. She requested substantial down payments from her victims and, as part of her scheme, oftentimes filed a fraudulent Application for Asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) without the victims’ knowledge.
Gonzalez knew that USCIS would provide work authorization documents to individuals with asylum claims that are pending over six months, so that those individuals may support themselves and their families while awaiting processing of their applications. When USCIS provided employment authorization documents to Gonzalez’s clients, she used the issuance of these documents to demonstrate to her victims that she was working on their cases to obtain work permits and a green card. When these asylum applications began to be processed, USCIS became aware that applications were filed without the victims’ knowledge and began investigating the matter. She received funds in excess of $40,000 from the victims as a result of this conduct.
On June 7, 2021, Gonzalez, 48, was arrested in Ronkonkoma by Nassau County District Attorney investigators. She pleaded guilty before Judge Terrence Murphy on January 26, 2024, to one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a Class D felony) and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (a Class E felony). On December 18, 2024, Gonzalez was sentenced to two to four years in prison. She was ordered to pay $43,525.02 in restitution. NCDA recommended a sentence of two-and-a-half to five years in prison.
“Tania Gonzalez exploited and deceived dozens of immigrants by claiming to be an immigration attorney and filing asylum paperwork with the federal government without their knowledge,” said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. “This defendant’s shameless actions cost vulnerable victims thousands of dollars over the course of four years. Today’s prison sentence holds her accountable for crippling so many lives including some who may never financially recover.”