WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A man and woman are still on the run after pretending to be immigration lawyers and ripping off nearly a dozen people who needed help in Wilkes-Barre.
The United Blend PA Community Center in Wilkes-Barre is a safe haven for everyone, especially those looking to achieve the American dream.
Elizabeth Perez works at the center, helping secure immigrants' futures in the United States. She said she referred people who came to the center looking for help to the man police now say is posing as an immigration lawyer.
At first, Perez said all of Daniel Martinez's credentials looked real. It wasn't until Martinez made a noticeable error that she began to unravel the lies.
"It gave me a heart attack. I had to go to the hospital. My friend told me, 'Elizabeth, everything was fake. Everything he did was falsified.' I asked what happened with the people he spoke with here at the center posing as an immigration lawyer. I told him I have to speak with the detective they gave you," said Elizabeth Perez with United Blend PA Community Center.
According to court paperwork, Martinez and his wife, Cruz Maria, stole thousands of dollars from people who went to them for help with their immigration and visa cases. Now, nearly 20 victims are left with the fear of an uncertain future and thousands of dollars in debt.
Elizabeth Espinosa said after she questioned Martinez about a letter she received in the mail concerning the next steps in her visa but nothing about the case he was working on to change her residency status, he reassured her with legal terms she said seemed legit after doing some research of her own.
Victims like Elizabeth Espinosa and her husband, Michael Turner. The couple says they met with Daniel Martinez before Espinosa's visa expired. Martinez even showed up to the couple's wedding, uninvited. But after months of payments and placing their trust in Martinez, the couple began to worry about the possibility of Espinosa being sent away from her family. The couple then found out they had allegedly been scammed.
Espinosa's husband, Michael Turner invested hundreds of dollars into the process with Martinez to ensure his wife would not be deported. He says, "It makes you feel like you're stupid, like how could you have not seen some of these things, and you know, you start to blame yourself a little bit, and people's lives are being changed because of this man."
Another victim who did not want to appear on camera tells Newswatch 16 that when he found out about the alleged scam, he felt defeated.
"I thought I was finally going to be able to have a permit to work legally in the States. Now we're searching for a real lawyer, but he took all of our money so now we don't have money to pay that," said the victim.
For some of the victims, it's been years of investing money into their immigration cases with the lingering fear of being sent away.
Another victim who wanted to remain anonymous said Martinez made it all seem like a worthwhile investment.
"I feel stuck because he took a lot of money from me, and we had to ask for loans, which we're now paying interest on. Now, I have to work even harder to pay it all back."
Now, victims just want to make sure no one else falls victim to Martinez's lies and that justice is served.
Daniel Martinez and Cruz Maria were supposed to turn themselves in to face theft by deception charges but never did.
The couple remains wanted on those charges in Luzerne County.