Protestors rally behind immigrant woman in Palm Springs

More than a dozen people stood outside of the county courthouse in Palm Springs Friday protesting Cathedral City paralegal Sara Salcido.

Salcido was in court after she was sued by Lindy Brau, an immigrant who she promised to help obtain a U Visa, is a visa for US immigrants who are victims of criminal activity.

In 2012, Salcido charged Brau $4,300, but turns out Brau wasn’t even eligible for a Visa and never received her money back, according to Brau’s attorney Rosa Elena Sahagun.

A judge ordered Salcido to return the money to Brau and Friday she did, $5,200, which included interest.

“She could’ve paid years ago. She could’ve avoided embarrassment. I want to thank her. By not paying, more people are aware of what she does to the community in the Coachella Valley,” said Sahagun.

While Salcido paid up, she still maintained she did nothing wrong. Leonard Cravens, Salcido’s attorney, sent us the following statement.

“Ms. Sahagun’s accusations that Ms. Salcido committed fraud against Ms. Brau are totally false … The truth is pretty simple. Lindy Brau is an undocumented alien that will do or say anything to gain legal status within the United States. She engaged Ms. Salcido in order to fill out the paperwork to do so.”

Cravens said his client never got a chance to defend herself in small claims court because of a mix-up in court dates.