Former Providence Immigration Attorney Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, Sentencing Set for Dec. 17
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced on October 19 that former immigration attorney Joseph Molina-Flynn pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
Molina-Flynn, 43, formerly practiced immigration law in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He admitted that between 2019 and 2023 he devised and executed a scheme to defraud immigration clients by collecting legal and filing fees for services he did not perform and providing some clients with false information about the status of their immigration matters. He admitted collecting approximately $98,000 from immigration clients for legal services not provided and expenses not incurred, and using the fraudulently obtained funds to operate his law practice and pay personal expenses.
Molina-Flynn also admitted that he failed to file a federal income tax return for 2021 and took steps to conceal income and payroll tax obligations, including by using his law firm's operating account to pay personal expenses. Under the plea agreement, the parties will recommend at sentencing that the tax loss attributable to his tax evasion is at least $550,000 but less than $1.5 million.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Molina-Flynn must pay $83,265 in restitution to victims of the wire fraud scheme. He must also file accurate delinquent federal tax returns for tax years 2019 through 2023 and pay the U.S. Treasury outstanding federal taxes, interest, and penalties. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 17. The sentence will be determined by a U.S. District Court judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Wire fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, and tax evasion carries a statutory maximum of up to five years; each count also carries potential fines and periods of supervised release.
The matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS, the Providence Police Department, and the FBI, with assistance from USCIS.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Providence 的联邦大楼与美国法院大楼外观（Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse），罗德岛区联邦地区法院所在地，本案在此认罪。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，公共领域，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Exterior of the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Providence, seat of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, where the plea was entered. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
