more on Kooritzky

Date: Friday, December 13, 2002 2:02 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Kooritzky may be going to jail for LCA fraud but the 500 Nepalis that he was
going to get visas for are just going to have to accept that they got
conned.

Go to this link to see a court case that Kooritzky lost against the DOL.
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/199906/98-5424a.txt

http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/aug/aug10/index1.htm

Over 500 Nepalis cheated of Rs 156m by US attorney

By Prateek Pradhan

NEW YORK, Aug 9:Over 500 Nepalis are on the verge of losing about Rs.156
million, and the prospective U.S. working visa, as the attorney they hired
got arrested by the federal agents in the allegation of fabricating fake
labour document.

Approximately over five hundred Nepali workers got in touch with the lawyer,
Samuel Kooritzky, believing his claims that he would find an employer for
them, and also file for "labour certificate" in the labour department.

It all started from Jan. 2001, when the Clinton administration passed a law
to provide legal status to all the immigrants who could obtain sponsorship
from the employees, with the payment of additional $1,000 fine.

Attorney Kooritzky, 63, and his accused accomplice engineer Ronald W.
Bogardus, 65, exploited the opportunity to cheat both the government and the
vulnerable immigrants.

They advertised widely among South Asian community that they would help both
legal and illegal immigrants achieve labour certificate, which could be used
to apply for permanent residency with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS).

According to federal agents Kooritzky and friend Bogardus, who as allegedly
obtained the names of local businesses, prepared 2,700 fake employer’s
documents and submitted to the labour department. The list of victims
include Nepali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Koreans and other Asians.

"According to our estimates, over 500 Nepalis have become victim of the
attorney’s wrong doings, and in average all of them have already submitted
$4,000 each," said Rom Ghimire, one of the victims from Dallas, Texas.

"We just knew that a reputed attorney named Kooritzky was getting us the
work permit, but we did not know that he was cheating us and also the US
government," said Suraj K.C. from Dallas, Texas who has submitted US$ 4,000,
as the first installment of the fee totaling to $11,000.

All the Nepalis who paid Samuel Kooritzky or his law firm Capital Law
Centers, for the work permit and permanent residency status, were shocked
and panicky when The Washington Post on 25 July reported that Kooritzky and
Bogardus were arrested by the federal agents.

"We don’t know what to do next, we are confused and worried," said Kiran
Panta, another victim. "All of us friends thought it was an opportunity to
achieve work permit, but it turned out to be a great fraud," he lamented.

When contacted at Kooritzky’s office in Arlington, Virginia nobody replied
the phone. Even Indrajeet Kaur, an Indian employee who was looking after the
cases of South Asians has left a pre-recorded message in English and Hindi
that status of all the clients could be told only after two weeks, "because
of the present situations."

Nepalis are worried that they might become victim for no mistake of their
own. "As per the government provided opportunity, Nepalis hired the lawyer,
it was not our mistake if the lawyer turned out to be a goon. I hope the US
government would look into the matter sympathetically," said Rom Ghimire.

Alike Ghimire, all Nepalis are now looking toward Nepali organizations to
salvage them from the problems. The embassies and lawyers of other countries
have come forward to the rescue of their people.

Yun Jung Yang, a Korean immigration lawyer, as quoted in The Washington
Post, mentioned that Kooritzky’s problem should not harm the immigrants.
"The immigrants are entitled to a benefit, which they sought through the
lawyer. He’s allegedly taken that away by filing the fraudulent labour
certificates," she said.

Binod Rokka, a foreign associate attorney and president of Alliance for
Human Rights and Democracy in Nepal is sure that victims would get their
money back as the government had already seized the property of the alleged
lawyers and his accused accomplice.

However, he said, "It would be better for Nepalis to find other employer to
sponsor them, and continue the process." According to Rokka it would be more
on administrative discretion to let the immigrants continue with other
advocates and other employees, under the same facility which they wanted to
use through Kooritzky..

"It is unfortunate that Nepalis do not check the right people before taking
their assistance. I think it would be better if they withdraw from Kooritzky
soonest possible," said Khagendra G.C., a Nepali attorney based in New York.

Many people in Texas and in Washington D.C. came to know about the Kooritzky
’s offers through Manish Pokharel, who is also the president of Nepali Youth
Organization. People who went through Pokharel want his organization to step
in. Others are colluding to knock on the doors of Nepal Embassy in
Washington D.C.

Pokharel thinks Neapalis should wait before the court decision on the case.
"My offer to help Nepali friends has put me in odd situation, however, no
Nepali should suffer from the attorney’s fault" he said.

Jaya Pratap Rana, ambassador of Nepal to the USA, commenting on the issue
said, "Either legal or illegal, we are concerned about Nepalis living in
this country. We are in wait-and-see situation now. If the need be, we will
take up the issue to the concerned authorities."

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