Lawyer, wife admit Chinese smuggling scheme

NEW YORK (AP) – The head of one of the nation's largest immigration asylum law firms and his wife pleaded guilty Monday to faking asylum applications to help smugglers bring hundreds of Chinese into America.

Robert Porges, 63, said he "personally approved every asylum application" as he admitted to a conspiracy in which the Porges Law Firm lied to help more than 1,000 immigrants stay in the United States.

"I was aware that many of the stories submitted by the aliens were either false, inaccurate or exaggerations," he said. "I deliberately did not investigate."

His description of his crimes before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote was followed by a confession by his wife, Sheery Lu Porges, 49.

She described helping smugglers in the kidnappings of 17 Chinese immigrants since 1997 by telling them where they could find clients of the law firm who promised to pay a fee to come to America.

In return, the smugglers would ensure a steady stream of business from immigrants seeking asylum in the United States, she said.

The immigrants, who otherwise could not legally enter the United States, agreed to pay between $40,000 and $50,000 to be brought to America. The smugglers were sent to collect the fee after learning flight plans from the law firm, Sheery Lu Porges said.

She said the law firm also advised what routes should be used to smuggle people into the United States.

The couple entered guilty pleas to racketeering and tax evasion charges under agreements that called for each of them to serve at least six years and two months in prison. Sentencing was set for May 17.

Sheery Lu Porges is pregnant with twins due in August, and a lawyer for her said she would seek to avoid incarceration until the children are born.

U.S. Attorney James Comey said the prosecution of the couple demonstrated that immigrant smuggling had become a major focus of law enforcement.

"With our nation now at war against terrorism, it has become an even more critical concern," he said.

Larry Bronson, a lawyer for Robert Porges, said his client decided to plead guilty rather than endure a trial after prosecutors offered deals to about 10 of the law firm's employees and eight smugglers.

He said the deals created a mountain of evidence that "just by the sheer weight would have made a defense impossible."

Bronson said his client was unjustly singled out for a practice that was so common that advertisements in Chinese newspapers coaxed prospective immigrants to contact law firms to perfect their asylum applications.

"It's a sad case because he's a lawyer, 63 years old, and he's going to jail for conduct which is conducted every day by people in this business," Bronson said.

As part of their plea, the couple agreed to forfeit $6 million, including their Stamford, Conn., home and $2.1 million in cash seized from the home and two safe deposit boxes after their arrests.

Bronson said the firm that had been operated by the couple would continue in business, though the couple would no longer be involved. The firm had represented immigrants nationwide.

Fourteen former Porges employees were charged with racketeering, alien smuggling or asylum fraud. Ten have pleaded guilty; one remains a fugitive.

The fraud was forcing the government to review as many as 7,000 asylum cases.