Orange County judge rules against immigration consultant who said he was the victim of a shakedown

A judge in Orange County has ruled that an immigration consultant, who said he thought he was the target of a shakedown lawsuit, had, in fact, violated several provisions of a state consumer protection law, which the judge also described as, “draconian,” in its effect on small businesses.

Judge David A. Hoffer, however, declined to issue a court order barring Shafi Afridi from continuing to run his business, from which he assists clients with the preparation of immigration documents.

The Afridi lawsuit, one of more than 200 separate cases filed by a single plaintiff against immigration consultants in LA, Orange, and San Diego counties in recent years, had accused Afridi of about 90 violations of the California law that regulates these businesses, called the, “Immigration Consultants Act,” or ICA.

“The court finds that it is not necessary to review all the ways Afridi allegedly violated the ICA because the six violations discussed [below] were exceedingly clear in the evidence,” Judge Hoffer wrote at the start of the 7 page decision filed earlier this month in Orange County Superior Court.

The violations listed in the judge’s ruling include Afridi’s failure to obtain a bond prior to advertising immigration services, failure to clearly state in advertisements that Afridi is not a lawyer, and of making false and misleading statements to customers about whether or not his business offered paralegal services.

Judge Hoffer commented in the ruling that the ICA, “has immensely detailed requirements and imposes strict liability for their violation,” in addition to allowing any private person to file an enforcement lawsuit, even if that plaintiff personally suffered no harm or injury.

“The ICA can be used to extract payment from practically any immigration consultant, as the court doubts that any are in perfect compliance with many rules,” he wrote.

Afridi told the I-Team in October that he had complied with state regulations and thought the lawsuits filed against him and dozens of other immigration consultants were unfair.

“I'm not going anywhere until I find the justice for me and for other people,” Afridi said last year.

Afridi’s attorney, Ann Lakhman, who also represents several other immigration consultants who are being sued for violating the ICA, argued the law should be changed to prevent what she believes is abuse of the legal process to target consultants who are trying to follow the law.

Lakhman compared the dozens of recent ICA lawsuits to cases that used to be filed against small businesses alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. California changed the ADA enforcement requirements in 2004 to require the person suing to have suffered actual harm.

Afridi was sued by a limited liability corporation called the, “Immigrant Rights Defense Council,” whose attorney is Sebastian Medvei.

Medvei told the I-Team last year he had evidence that everyone he sued had violated the ICA, and said filing the lawsuits against the consultants without initially alleging specific violations was both appropriate and ethical, and suggested that using generalized allegations in initial filings kept the cost of his legal work lower.  

“There’s proof of rampant violations in every single case we file,” he said last year, and explained the reason he filed so many cases - was because many clients of immigration consultants, who may have received unlawful or bad legal advice, do not want to get involved in lawsuits.

“So there are victims everywhere, the problem is they're most of the time afraid to come forward,” Medvei said.

After the judge’s decision, Medvei contacted NBC4 and reiterated that the ruling showed many of Afridi’s statements were proven false, but didn’t otherwise provide further comment.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article erroneously stated corporate records in California and Delaware show Medvei controls the LLC, “Immigrant Rights Defense Council.” A review of those documents shows he is listed as an organizer, authorized representative, and attorney. Medvei denies having any ownership.