An Orlando Immigration Services Company Was Indicted for Wire Fraud. Its Employees Were Charged Too.

If you worked at a company that prepared immigration paperwork for paying customers, the federal indictment announced in Orlando on November 2 is about you, even if you never owned anything. The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida charged thirteen people, and seven of them are described as employees. Not the owner. Not a lawyer. Staff. Each employee faces wire fraud and visa fraud conspiracy counts that carry up to 20 years in federal prison on the fraud counts alone.

Not the owner. Not a lawyer. Staff.

Key Takeaways

• Seven employees of an Orlando immigration services company face the same wire fraud counts as the owner under 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 1349.
• Conspiracy to commit visa fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1546 carries up to 10 years per count, and the indictment charges four such conspiracies.
• The Middle District of Florida case was built by a multi-agency Homeland Security Task Force, including IRS Criminal Investigation and the Labor Department OIG.
• Holding yourself out as qualified to give legal advice without a Florida license is a separate third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. 454.23.
• Employees who prepared or filed documents are witnesses first and targets second; that window closes quickly once arrests begin.

What the Orlando Indictment Charges

According to the Justice Department's November 2 announcement, a Florida company that marketed immigration services operated from August 2023 through April 2026. The government alleges it falsely presented itself as staffed by immigration experts and attorneys, gave false or incomplete legal advice to induce people to retain it, and falsified immigration documents to obtain status and benefits for its customers.

The investigating agencies tell you how the case was built: Homeland Security Investigations offices in Orlando, Tampa and Brasilia, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture Inspectors General, Customs and Border Protection, the Marshals Service, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Highway Patrol and FDLE. That is a money case and a documents case at the same time.

That is a money case and a documents case at the same time.

What the Government Is Building, and Why Employees Are in It

Prosecutors charged this as wire fraud first. That choice matters. A wire fraud theory treats every customer payment, every intake call and every emailed form as a potential execution of the scheme. It also lets the government reach people who never signed a false document themselves, as long as it can prove they joined the agreement and acted to advance it.

That is the employee problem. Front-desk staff, case preparers and translators touch the documents and the money every day. In a multi-defendant federal case, the government's proof against the owner usually comes from the people who worked for the owner. Some of those people are charged so that they will cooperate. The ones who are not charged are often interviewed early, at home, by agents who already have the company's email and bank records.

Front-desk staff, case preparers and translators touch the documents and the money every day.

The IRS and Labor OIG participation points to two more threads: where the fee revenue went, and how the company paid workers it allegedly knew were not authorized to work. Expect forfeiture allegations aimed at bank accounts and property, which the government can pursue under 18 U.S.C. 981 for wire fraud proceeds.

Exposure and Charges, Statute by Statute

Visa and document fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1546 covers forging or using false immigration documents and knowingly making false statements on required forms. The announced penalty for each visa fraud conspiracy count is up to 10 years. Conspiracies are typically charged through the general conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. 371, or the statute's own conspiracy language.

Marriage fraud under 8 U.S.C. 1325(c) carries up to five years for anyone who knowingly enters a marriage to evade immigration law, and the conspiracy counts here reach people who arranged or participated in those marriages. Unlawful employment under 8 U.S.C. 1324a is a misdemeanor pattern-or-practice offense, capped at six months, but it supports the larger story the government wants to tell a jury.

Florida adds its own layer. Under Fla. Stat. 454.23, anyone not licensed to practice law in Florida who holds out as qualified to practice law commits a third-degree felony. A company that advertises attorney-level immigration help without an attorney invites state charges alongside the federal case.

In a case like this, the loss amount dispute and the role adjustment for each employee drive the range more than the statutory maximums do.

At sentencing, a wire fraud conviction usually runs through the loss table in USSG 2B1.1, which changed on November 1, 2026 with higher thresholds. Document fraud counts carry their own guideline, with increases tied to the number of documents. In a case like this, the loss amount dispute and the role adjustment for each employee drive the range more than the statutory maximums do.

Critical Mistakes People Make Early

The first mistake is assuming that an employee is a bystander. If you prepared files, collected fees, or translated declarations, you may already be a subject. Agents do not explain the difference between a witness, a subject and a target at your front door.

The second mistake is talking. A short, voluntary interview can produce a statement that becomes its own crime under 18 U.S.C. 1001 if any part of it is later called false. The third is deleting messages or wiping a work phone after the news breaks. That converts a defensible case into an obstruction case.

The fourth is waiting for a letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office before calling a lawyer. In multi-defendant immigration and fraud cases, the cooperation decisions are often made in the first weeks after arrests. People who move late find the useful information already given by someone else.

Strategic Defense Approach for Owners and Employees

For a person who has received a grand jury subpoena or a target letter, there is still room for pre-charge negotiation with the AUSA. Counsel can sometimes establish that a client was a low-level participant, account for the immigration consequences of any plea, and argue for a reduced role before charging decisions harden. For those already charged, the fights are knowledge, the scope of the conspiracy each person joined, loss attribution and role. Federal investigation defense in a case like this is document-heavy; it is won in the bank records and the intake files, not in speeches.

Owners face a different calculation. They carry the forfeiture exposure, the unlawful employment count and the Florida unlicensed practice risk. A white collar defense attorney representing an owner has to plan for the likelihood that employees will testify, and build the defense around the documents rather than around anyone's memory.

Why Timing Matters Right Now

The arrests in this case were announced on November 2. Customers, former employees and anyone who handled the company's money are now on the government's interview list, if they were not already. A Middle District of Florida defense attorney retained this week can still shape whether a person is treated as a witness or added in a superseding indictment. Waiting a month often removes that choice.

Common Questions

Under Federal Investigation in Florida?

If agents have contacted you about an immigration services business, a document preparation office, or any company where you handled customer files or payments, speak with a lawyer before you speak with them. AMC Defense Law represents people under federal investigation and facing federal charges in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and in federal courts nationwide. Consultations are confidential. Contact the firm at 561.542.5494 or through amcdefenselaw.com.

If you or your loved ones have been arrested or are under federal investigation, call Aaron M. Cohen, 24 hours a day to get help.

It is won in the bank records and the intake files, not in speeches.

About the author. Aaron M. Cohen is the founder and principal attorney of AMC Defense Law, a criminal defense firm in Boca Raton, Florida, with more than 30 years of experience in state and federal courts. He is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey, and the Northern District of Texas. He appears pro hac vice in other federal districts nationwide. The firm represents clients in federal investigations and prosecutions involving healthcare fraud, Anti-Kickback Statute matters, DME and telemedicine fraud, peptide and compounded-drug enforcement, controlled-substance and drug conspiracy cases, financial crimes, and complex federal litigation, in Florida and nationwide.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The facts described are drawn from public charging announcements; an indictment is an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Every case turns on its own facts. Consult a qualified attorney about your specific situation. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.