Florida indictment charges 13 in immigration-services fraud case tied to Legacy Imigra

Thirteen Brazilian and Cuban nationals have been indicted in a Florida immigration-services case that prosecutors say involved falsified documents, marriage fraud and knowingly hiring people unauthorized to work in the United States, according to a Nov. 2 release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The case centers on Legacy Imigra Solutions LLC, a Florida-registered business that prosecutors allege falsely presented itself as staffed by immigration experts and attorneys. Prospective clients were given false, inaccurate and incomplete advice to persuade them to retain the firm, and Legacy allegedly falsified documents to obtain immigration status and benefits for clients.

Vagner Sorares De Almeida owned and operated Legacy from Aug. 18, 2023, through April 20, 2026, according to court records described in the release. He and employees Juliana Colucci, Lucas Felipe Trindade Silva and Ronaldo De Campos each face one count of unlawful employment of aliens, alongside wire-fraud, visa-fraud conspiracy and marriage-fraud conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege a regular practice of hiring people the defendants knew lacked U.S. work authorization.

Other Legacy employees face wire-fraud and visa-fraud conspiracy charges. Additional defendants face marriage-fraud conspiracy charges. The indictment is an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The Homeland Security Task Force investigation includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, USCIS, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, among other federal, state and local agencies.

If convicted, defendants face maximum prison terms of 20 years per wire-fraud or wire-fraud conspiracy count and 10 years per visa-fraud conspiracy count. Marriage-fraud conspiracy carries a maximum of five years; unlawful employment of aliens carries a maximum of six months.