A 58-year-old Laredo woman has been arrested for allegedly posing as an immigration attorney and scamming two women out of thousands of dollars while promising help with political asylum applications.
Laredo police arrested Diana Maribel Flores-Ruiz on Jan. 14, charging her with two counts of representation as an attorney, both Class A misdemeanors. Investigators say Flores-Ruiz falsely claimed to be a licensed immigration attorney and a notary public.
According to police, the victims met with Flores-Ruiz in October while seeking assistance with political asylum. Authorities said Flores-Ruiz told one woman about a supposed new law that allowed migrants — even those who had lived in the U.S. for several years — to qualify for political asylum.
Believing the information was legitimate, the women paid thousands of dollars for Flores-Ruiz to process two political asylum visas. Police later said the victims paid approximately $7,900.
After consulting licensed immigration attorneys, the women discovered they did not qualify for asylum and that the legal information they were given was inaccurate. When they attempted to contact Flores-Ruiz to seek answers, police said she stopped responding to their calls.
“That this supposed immigration attorney stole from them allegedly $7,900,” said Cesar Rodriguez of the Laredo Police Department. “Sadly, they found out they were victims of a scam.”
Investigators were eventually able to contact Flores-Ruiz by phone, and she initially agreed to meet with police. However, authorities said she later canceled the meeting and never followed through.
Immigration attorney Jose Salvador Tellez said cases like this underscore the importance of verifying credentials before hiring legal help. He noted that the State Bar of Texas website allows the public to easily confirm whether someone is a licensed attorney.
The Mexican Consulate in Laredo also warned residents not to confuse notaries public with licensed attorneys, emphasizing that only attorneys are legally authorized to provide immigration advice.
Police presented their findings to the Webb County District Attorney’s Office, which approved arrest warrants for Flores-Ruiz. Authorities urge anyone seeking immigration assistance to verify an attorney’s license and to report suspected fraud to law enforcement.
