Editor’s Note: Since this story was published the judge in one of the cases profiled has ruled that the immigration consultant violated state law, and that there was ample evidence of those violations shown during a trial in Orange County. You can read more about that case here.
Glendale-based immigration consultant Zed Ziafathy told the NBC4 I-Team he was shocked when he found out he was being sued, not by one of his former clients, but by a corporation he'd never heard of.
“It was a shakedown, basically,” Ziafathy told the I-Team.
Ziafathy, who's worked as a consultant for more than 40 years, said the suit came, "out of the blue," and accused him, without citing evidence or proof, of violating the California law that governs his business.
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“There is no specifics in there, there is no signing under penalty of perjury by the attorney, so it's basically a fishing expedition,” Ziafathy said of allegations listed in the legal complaint.
He said he soon learned that dozens of other immigration consultants, non-attorneys who help people fill out and file immigration forms, were also being sued by the same lawyer.
Ziafathy says he reluctantly paid a cash settlement because it was cheaper than going to trial.
“Because if I wanted to fight the lawsuit, I had to pay money out of my own pocket,” he said.
The I-Team has found more than 300 nearly identical lawsuits filed against immigration consultants across Southern California, and like Ziafathy's case, court records showed most of them were closed with a settlement payment.
A few of those sued say they've decided to fight back.
“He's using the judiciary as a gun towards the people,” said Shafi Afridi, an immigration consultant based in Orange County who's being sued by the same lawyer who filed the cases against Ziafathy and the others.
Afridi said he was determined to stand up in court against what he calls unfounded accusations, and said he can prove he followed state law carefully by having a background check, posting a bond, and registering as an immigration consultant with the California Secretary of State.
“Injustice. This is extortion," he said. "You have to stand up, and that's my case and that's why I'm fighting."
The I-Team talked with more than a dozen immigration consultants who've been sued, including Linda Young, who said she's been registered to work as an immigration consultant since 1987 and serves many people who speak Mandarin and Cantonese from her office in Alhambra.
“I’m angry,” she told the I-Team.
Young said she paid $12,000 to settle the lawsuit filed against her several years ago, even though she said she could prove she never violated the law.
“I’m 60 years old. This is the money that I want to retire,” she said.
Ann L. Lakhman, an attorney who's defending Afridi and several other immigration consultants from the lawsuits in Orange County, said she believes the cases she's working on stink of a shakedown.
“This case is all about the plaintiff attorney, or the plaintiff himself, using the Immigration Consultant Act as a weapon," she said.
"As a weapon to attack all the other defendants and make them pay."
Lakhman said the act, the California law that regulates immigration consultants, is an unusual law in that it allows a private person to stand in as a representative of the state, file the lawsuit, and collect attorney's fees.
She said the complaints filed against her clients included no evidence of a violation, and so far, she found no violations when she prepared her cases for trial.
The lawyer filing all of these cases is Sebastien Medvei, who told the I-Team that he doesn't need to show evidence of wrongdoing to begin to take legal action.
“There's proof of rampant violations in every single case we file,” he said outside court in Orange County.
Medvei said he is trying to go after scofflaw immigration businesses, who he said often take advantage of people in jeopardy of losing their legal status in the U.S. by overcharging them for simple services or giving bad legal advice.
“So there are victims everywhere. The problem is they're most of the time afraid to come forward,” Medvei told the I-Team.
None of the cases the I-Team saw listed a victim or plaintiff other than a limited liability company called the "Immigrant Rights Defense Council."
“The LLC that's involved in these cases doesn't get a profit," Medvei explained.
"They don't get any money, I get the money,” he added.
Public court records of settlements in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties show Medvei has collected at least $2,262,491 from the lawsuits he filed against immigration consultants, a number Medvei declined to confirm.
While most of Medvei's lawsuits were settled outside court, he won at least 2 cases at trial.
He said what he's doing is legal, justified and ethical, and told the I-Team he would gladly drop any of the lawsuits if the consultants could simply show him they were following the law.
“If you're not violating, you can just show me the evidence that you're not violating, and God bless,” said Medvei.
When asked how many cases he dropped once he was satisfied by proof of compliance, Medvei said "none."
The immigration consultants who are now challenging the suits in court say they hope a single court victory over Medvei could begin to unravel what they describe as a predatory scheme.
"I let him know that this is the cause of my life," Shafi Afridi said.
"I'm not backing off, I'm not going anywhere until I find the justice for me and for other people,” he said.
A judge heard evidence in Afridi's case during a short bench trial in September and promised to issue a verdict in December.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article erroneously stated that corporate records in Delaware show Medvei is an owner of the parent company of the LLC, “Immigrant Rights Defense Council”. A review of those documents shows he is listed as the organizer, authorized representative, and attorney. Medvei denies having any ownership.
