Woman pleads not guilty in illegal immigration consulting case

Grand theft charges were filed Monday against a Cathedral City woman accused of working as an unregistered immigration consultant and unlawfully giving legal advice to clients, while collecting more than $500,000 in fees.

Sara Arcelia Salcido, 39, was represented by a lawyer from the county public defender’s office during her arraignment at the Larson Justice Center. She responded to the eight felony counts, to which she pleaded not guilty, through a Spanish-language interpreter.

Deputy Public Defender Daniel Yu asked a judge to reduce Salcido’s bail from $500,000 to $55,000, citing her lack of any criminal record, 26 years of residency in the Coachella Valley and strong local family ties, and arguing that the alleged losses by victims currently total about $37,000.

But Superior Court Judge Dale R. Wells granted the prosecution’s request that bail be kept at the current level, noting that Salcido is a legal permanent resident whose “green card” has been scanned seven times at the U.S.-Mexico border, suggesting she is a potential flight risk.

In arguing against lowering bail, prosecutors also told the judge that a raid of Salcido’s office last week turned up evidence suggesting that the total number of alleged victims could reach as high as 150 to 175.

Salcido, who is due back in court on Sept. 10 for a felony settlement conference, was taken into custody at her Cathedral City home Thursday morning by investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators served search warrants at her home in addition to her business, Immigration and Court Services of the Desert, located at 68-783 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City, according to prosecutors.

The district attorney’s office began investigating Salcido in May after receiving consumer complaints that she was conducting business illegally. Officials said it’s believed these illegal activities have been ongoing for several years.

Salcido isn’t licensed to practice law in California and the investigation revealed that she was reportedly giving legal advice, and that she isn’t a registered immigration consultant, according to the DA’s release.

Based on evidence collected during the investigation, authorities believe Salcido has been taking payments for services she wasn’t legally permitted to provide.

Salcido was supposed to appear for a debtor examination at the Larson Justice Center in early July after Rigoberto Salazar of Cathedral City sued her for $5,300.

“Immigration benefits were promised. The family was promised permission to travel to see a sick relative. They were also promised a permanent residency. They were not eligible for this,” said Salazar’s attorney Rosa Elena Sahagun. “Mr. Salazar already won his lawsuit. We’re just trying to collect what is his.”

A warrant was then issued for her arrest.

There have already been nine victims identified and investigators expect that number could increase. Authorities said the theft by false pretenses received by Salcido in these cases may be in excess of $500,000.

“These are a lot of victims, this is a lot of money. I know she will continue to deny any and all wrongdoing, but remember we have these cases at different stages within the small claims system, several are at the judgement stage. It’s difficult to say you did not engage in any wrongdoing when you’re facing so many civil cases and and so many judgments,” said Sahagun.

One of the services Salcido is accused of illegally providing involved people coming to her for assistance in obtaining documents called U Visas. The U non-immigrant status, or U Visa, is set aside for victims in certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and are helpful to police and government officials to investigate and prosecute criminal activity, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The district attorney’s office said, under the California Business and Professions Code, people are permitted to serve as an immigration consultants to provide services such as obtaining and filling out documents, translating answers for documents, and assistance in filing documents. Immigration consultants, who are not lawyers and can’t give legal advice, have a variety of requirements they must follow which include registering with the California Secretary of State, passing a background check, and being properly bonded.

Authorities suspect there are likely other alleged victims and asked anyone with information to contact district attorney’s Investigator Matthew Remmers at 951-955-2261.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will continue to track the developments of Salcido’s case.