By Georgina Brennan

Christine Owad, the bogus immigration practitioner who frauded undocumented Irish out of thousands of dollars through false promises of legality, may face further charges from the New York attorney general and the state district attorney as her background is revealing a pattern of fraudulent behaviour.

A Ukrainian man has revealed to the Irish Voice that before Owad duped hundreds of Irish people out of money after promising them unattainable green cards she was already famous in his community for not delivering promised green cards.

“I am frightened to use my name, but many people in our community have been victims of Christine Owad,” he said.

The man, who met Owad through her husband Petr Menlikov, said he gave Owad money to get him legalized in the U.S. but his green card never came.

“It was a few years ago. I have been in the United States for almost three years; I met her soon after I arrived. She told me I would get a work permit if I could get a job. She said she had worked with asylum cases and could help me.”

But despite getting a job with a construction firm, and paying Owad almost $2,000 that he had saved a long time for, he never got a work permit or a green card. He never even got a letter saying he was to be fingerprinted.

“I got nothing from her, then I read in the Irish Voice that she was being investigated by the Attorney General and I knew I was never getting my papers. I always read it for the jobs, you know. Now I am calling the Attorney General to help with their case, but I think I am not alone.”

The man, who lives in Brooklyn, revealed that he knew Owad had more victims. He knew of several from his community in Westchester and read the story of one man who recently spoke to the Journal News but could not be contacted by the Irish Voice.

Vladimir Ryabets lives in Monroe in Orange County, which is not far from Owad’s base of Windham. “I trusted her. That trust is more than money. It hurts a lot. She ruined my case,” he told the News.

Ryabets, a dance instructor, came to the U.S. a decade ago, leaving his wife and son in the Ukraine so that he could gain opportunity and earn money. He was offered sponsorship from a ballroom dance company but lawyers said it could take years and would cost thousands.

Ryabets heard about Owad and when he went to meet her she promised him a visa in eighteen months. But he didn’t get a visa and when he was fingerprinted his form came back to him saying he had no basis to apply.

“I still can’t see my family. She ruined life for a lot of people,” Ryabets said. “This is not only about money. People come and live in the United States and have possibilities. She presented herself like a lawyer and she lied to people.”

Last week Owad filed papers with the state attorney general’s office. The papers detailed her client’s applications.

Owad’s attorney, Allen Morgenstern of Garden City was called by the Irish Voice but could not be reached for comment.

According to the attorney general’s office the case is moving along and they are still getting victims coming forward.

“We suspect it could be hundreds of people,” said Christine Pritchard, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office.

Owad, in an exclusive interview with the Irish Voice in October, admitted that she had Ukrainian clients and that everyone was happy with her services. She insisted she had not broken the law and had never made a promise she could not keep.

“I never made any promises I could not keep, I offered every refund if its something I did wrong. I know my value because of what I produce,” she said.

“It has been always my history that in eleven months I produce something. I can back up everything I said they didn’t give me a chance to finish,” she said at the time.

Currently Owad is out of business pending the outcome of her case.

“Those who use false promises and deceit to prey upon individuals seeking the American dream face swift and aggressive prosecution by my office,” New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said.

Spitzer’s office began investigating reports exclusively in the Irish Voice in October that Owad, based in Windham, targeted Irish and British people in New York City and the Hudson Valley for her scam.

According to the attorney general’s lawsuit, Owad falsely claimed that, for a fee ranging between $2,000 and $4,000, she could get green cards, within a year, and work authorization permits within a few months.

She also falsely represented that she was a paralegal with vast experience securing changes in immigration status. She also claimed that she had helped many immigrants get green cards and work authorization permits through loopholes in the immigration laws.

She further claimed to have contacts and special influence in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.

According to the lawsuit, after collecting fees from her victims, Owad provided them with forms that she falsely represented could be used to secure green cards. Her victims would subsequently receive a letter from USCIS acknowledging receipt of an application and enclosing a notice to come to a USCIS office to have their picture taken and to be fingerprinted, leaving them with the impression that their application was going forward.

What they later discovered, however, was that their applications had been rejected. The USCIS even have their own file on Owad that they have been collecting for some time.

In filing the lawsuit, Spitzer’s office is seeking a permanent court order banning Owad from any future deceptive business practices and from providing any immigration assistance services. Spitzer’s lawsuit also seeks full monetary restitution for injured victims, civil penalties and court costs.

Individuals with complaints or information about Owad are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s office in confidentiality at 845-485-3913.

“I think they will find out that she has been doing this for a long time, she knew what she was talking about it seemed,” said the Ukrainian man. “Will it get me a green card though if they find more, I don’t think so,” he said.