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Immigration Attorney and Wife Found Guilty of Asylum Fraud
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, announced that New York
immigration attorney JAMES CHRISTO and his wife, REMILA CHRISTO,
were found guilty today of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud
following a one-week trial before United States District Judge
DAVID HITTNER, sitting by designation in the Southern District of
New York.
As established by the evidence presented at trial:
JAMES CHRISTO, with the assistance of his wife,
operated a law firm in Manhattan that, among other things,
assisted aliens of Albanian nationality with applications for
political asylum. In April and May 2004, the CHRISTOs worked
together to help a "client" -- who was actually an undercover FBI
agent posing as an Albanian immigrant -- to create and document a
fake story of persecution in support of an application for
political asylum.
JAMES CHRISTO, 44, and REMILA CHRISTO, 35, of Jersey
City, New Jersey, were both found guilty of one count of
conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and face a maximum
sentence of 5 years in prison. CHRISTO was found not guilty on a
second count of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud.
Sentencing of the CHRISTOs is scheduled for July 17, 2009, at
2:00 p.m.
Mr. DASSIN praised Department of Homeland Security's
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation for their work on the case.
Assistant United States Attorneys RUA M. KELLY and
BRENT S. WIBLE are in charge of the prosecution. This case is
being prosecuted by the Public Corruption Unit of the United
States Attorney's Office.
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