A Ridgewood-based travel agent allegedly stole thousands of dollars from an undocumented immigrant in return for procuring legal immigration status for the individual, who was actually working as an informant, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown identified the travel agent as Dariusz Buczynski, 44, of 65th Place in Maspeth, who owns Anka Travel and Consulting Services located at 65-14 Fresh Pond Rd. and formerly at 71-20 Fresh Pond Rd., both in Ridgewood.
“In this particular case, the defendant is accused of being a con man who unscrupulously exploited an individual looking for help in achieving his American dream but ultimately found only an American nightmare,” Brown said. “Anyone who believes that he or she may have been a victim of the defendant’s alleged scheme is asked to contact my Office of Immigration Affairs at 1-718-286-6690 or my Integrity Unit at 1-718-286-6524.”
Buczynski was arraigned on Tuesday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Bruna DiBiase on a criminal complaint charging him with third-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
According to the criminal charges, the informant working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations went to Anka Travel and Consulting Services on July 27, 2012, met with Buczynski and asked for help in securing government documents granting legal status, including work documents and legal resident status. Buczynski told the informant that he would charge $12,000 for the process.
Between Oct. 25, 2012, and Oct. 9, 2013, the informant allegedly met with Buczynski at both of his office locations and supplied him with the documentation Buczynski requested. The informant also signed numerous documents regarding his immigration application and work authorization request.
During the Oct. 9, 2013 meeting, the informant was allegedly given four purported government forms that were printed out by Buczynski. Prosecutors said the suspect then told the informant that he should receive paperwork from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in two to four weeks.
During the meetings, the informant allegedly paid Buczynski various amounts of money, including $6,000 in cash to begin the paperwork and $1,650 in cash for application fees and the informant’s working permit card.
Official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services records indicate that Buczynski never actually provided any applications or forms on the informant’s behalf. An examination of the illegitimate forms that Buczynski provided the informant allegedly revealed false barcodes.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
