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Brooklyn D.A. launches Immigrant Fraud Unit

April 8, 2014 Heather Chin

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A new Immigrant Fraud Unit (IFU) in the Brooklyn district attorneys office will investigate and prosecute criminal schemes targeting immigrant communities and offer education and appropriate recourse to victims, announced Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson, who said the move is in direct response to the growing trend of scams against immigrants.

Immigrants, especially those without documentation, are especially vulnerable to fraud, particularly in the areas of employment, housing and the procurement of proper immigration documents, explained Thompson. Our Immigrant Fraud Unit will serve to open a channel of communication to victims of crime who might not otherwise feel that they have a voice.

Heading up the unit is veteran ADA Maritza Mejia-Ming, who will be promoted to IFU chief.

Mejia-Ming emigrated with her family from the Dominican Republic in 1972 and has served as First Deputy Bureau Chief in the Early Case Assessment Bureau, and in the Criminal Court, Domestic Violence, Grand Jury and Investigations Bureaus.