Feds charge six
in immigration scam

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Federal authorities last week announced criminal charges against six men who allegedly partnered in a $3 million Northeast-based immigration scheme that allowed hundreds of foreign nationals to obtain U.S. Green Cards illegally.
A grand jury indictment filed by the office of acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid identified Holland, Bucks County resident David Lynn, 33, as the lead figure in the case. His business, Lynn International, billed itself as a "translation service," but actually specialized in falsifying asylum-from-persecution requests for clients, many of whom had come from Eastern Europe.
Federal immigration law permits individuals who have suffered persecution or will be persecuted upon return to their homelands because of race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group to apply for asylum in the United States.
Lynn’s clients claimed in paperwork and interviews that, if forced to return to their homelands, they would be persecuted for practicing the Baptist or Jehovah’s Witness religions, for being homosexual or for being Gypsies.
Lynn operated the business from an office at 1726 Welsh Road in Bustleton, as well as three locations in Southampton, Bucks County.
His co-defendants include his father-in-law, Yevgeny Zemlyansky, 61, of Feasterville, and Nelly Katsman, 41, of Holland; along with three Philadelphia residents, Ilya Zherelyev, 46, Anatoly Zagrinichny, 62, and Akbar Kadirov, 54.
Authorities claim that the defendants prepared and filed at least 380 bogus asylum applications for clients from January 2003 to March 2007. The defendants allegedly paid relatives and friends to use their addresses on the applications, although their clients did not live at those addresses.
The defendants also coached clients to lie during interviews with federal immigration officials, the indictment claims. In exchange, Lynn’s firm allegedly charged $8,000 per person or up to $12,000 per family.
Lynn and his associates recruited clients from as far away as New York, Connecticut, Ohio and Illinois, and drove them to federal immigration offices in New York and New Jersey, the indictment states. Sometimes, defendants translated for clients at interviews.
Defendants allegedly hid or disguised the proceeds of the business by using a network of overseas bank accounts and local safety deposit boxes, as well as accepting payments in the form of personal checks and cash.
During a March 8, 2007, raid on Lynn’s home, federal agents allegedly found $562,000 cash in a safe hidden under the basement floor, as well as two 10-ounce gold bars. The following day, agents seized another $671,000 cash from three area bank boxes, along with $75,000 stashed in Lynn’s 2005 Lexus.
Authorities have collected $138,000 from three local bank accounts and seized a $149,000 check written on a Swiss bank account, all linked to the defendants.
All six men are charged with committing visa or asylum fraud and conspiracy. Lynn, Zemlyansky and Zherelyev are also charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.
If convicted, the defendants would face maximum prison sentences ranging from 25 to 100 years, along with fines of $500,000 to $2.75 million. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com