LA paralegal admits role in alleged immigration fraud for supposed members of church led by Quiboloy

LOS ANGELES/MANILA – A Los Angeles paralegal has agreed to plead guilty to participating in an alleged conspiracy to violate US immigration laws by preparing and filing fraudulent documents to gain legal permanent residency and citizenship for supposed members of a Philippine-based church, the US Justice Department announced on Friday.

In a plea agreement filed at the United States District Court, 73-year-old Maria De Leon, a resident of Koreatown in Los Angeles and owner of Liberty Legal Document Services, "agreed to plead guilty to participating in a scheme with administrators of the church, which is known as the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC)," it added.

The church is headed by Apollo Quiboloy, an adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Quiboloy is included in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's wanted list "for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders."

In addition to pleading guilty, De Leon agreed to cooperate in the case filed by the US government, the US Justice Department said.

De Leon admitted to participating, for about eight years, in the alleged conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud with supposed leaders of the KOJC, it added.

"At the time De Leon completed the immigration paperwork for certain KOJC members, she knew that the immigration paperwork was based upon false representations of the bona fides of the underlying marriages made by church officials," according to the plea agreement.

She also submitted "fraudulent 'Petitions for Alien Relative' and related paperwork on behalf of KOJC members knowing or believing that the marriages were arranged for purposes of securing favorable immigration status for a spouse," the US Justice Department said.

De Leon is one of nine defendants who were charged in November 2021 in a 42-count superseding that alleges a labor trafficking scheme that used fraudulently obtained visas to bring KOJC members to the US, where they were allegedly forced to solicit donations for a bogus charity, the Glendale-based Children’s Joy Foundation (CJF).

The indictment alleges that the donations were used to finance church operations and its leaders' lavish lifestyles.

"Members who proved successful at soliciting for the KOJC were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to acquire legal status in the United States so they could continue soliciting donations, the indictment alleges," the US Justice Department said.

"Many of the workers were moved around the United States to solicit donations as CJF 'volunteers,' who were also called Full Time Miracle Workers, according to the indictment, which alleges these 'workers fundraised for KOJC nearly every day, year-round, working very long hours, and often sleeping in cars overnight," it added.

The superseding indictment also alleges a sex trafficking scheme that implicates Quiboloy, who was referred to as “The Appointed Son of God.”

De Leon is one of six defendants previously arrested in this case, the US Justice Department said. The five other defendants who have appeared in federal court in Los Angeles are scheduled to be tried on March 21, 2023, it added.

"Three of the defendants, including Quiboloy, are fugitives believed to be in the Philippines," the US Justice Department said.

The court is expected to set a schedule for a hearing for De Leon to formally enter her guilty plea to the conspiracy count. "Once she pleads guilty, De Leon will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison," the US Justice Department added.

The FBI is encouraging potential victims or anyone with information about KOJC activities to contact FBI at (310) 477-6565 or via its website. 

'Not connected'

Sought for comment, Quiboloy’s legal counsel Atty. Ferdinand Topacio on Saturday said De Leon is not connected nor affiliated in any way with the KJOC, nor with Quiboloy officially or personally.

“Ms. De Leon is an independent contractor whose company renders paralegal services to the public at large,” Topacio said.

"Secondly, under the legal doctrine of res inter alios acta — which is likewise applicable in the courts of the United States — any confession only binds the confessor. Being the act of a third party, it cannot affect Pastor Quiboloy or any other co-accused, nor should it negatively affect the cases against them,” he added.

Topacio said Quiboloy's camp “cannot discount the possibility of pressure being brought to bear on the 73-year old Ms. De Leon as part of the pattern of harassment being employed against Pastor Quiboloy and the KJOC in the United States for purely political motives." —With a report from Ted Cordero/BAP/KG, GMA News