Jerome Woman Charged with Cheating Immigrants

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a southern Idaho woman after prosecutors said she cheated immigrants out of thousands of dollars by pretending to be an immigration attorney.

The Times-News reports Celia Perez of Jerome was indicted last week on 12 counts of mail fraud in Boise's U.S. District Court. Federal prosecutors say that starting in the end of 2006 Perez bilked two families out of more than $30,000 by claiming to be an immigration attorney who could help them.

Perez has not yet entered a plea to the charges. The Idaho Attorney General filed a civil complaint against her in 2010 involving similar allegations. Court records show Perez failed to appear at a hearing in that case and a judge ruled against her in 2011.