FROM:
Stephen Gibbons, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Dale B. Lohman, Deputy District Attorney
Major Fraud Unit
(408) 792-2599 For Release on MAY 23, 2003 DEFENDANT ARRESTED IN IMMIGRATION FRAUD CASE The Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney has filed felony grand theft and perjury charges against a Southern California man named Michael Gan, aka Zheda Gan. Gan, 39, was arrested in San Jose on May 23, 2003. Gan, who is not licensed to practice law in California, falsely represented himself as an immigration attorney to a couple in Saratoga who hired him to handle their petitions for political asylum in the United States. When the INS denied their petitions, the couple was placed in deportation status. The husband subsequently died of a heart attack leaving behind two young children. The widow then hired a new immigration attorney who was able to get the deportation order reversed. She also sued the defendant civilly for breach of contract and fraud. Gan falsely testified in the civil proceeding that he had never told anyone he was an attorney, that he had not received any money from the victims, and that he was merely a translator who had assisted a local attorney who had represented the victims at an INS interview. The very attorney Gan claimed to have assisted, however, contradicted Gan’s testimony, as did an interpreter Gan had hired in the past. Gan failed to appear for the final day of the civil trial and the victim was awarded a $122,000 judgment. If convicted, Gan could face up to 4 years and 8 months years in state prison. It is believed that Gan may have deceived other individuals as well. Anyone with information or questions is encouraged to call Santa Clara County D.A. Investigator Michelle Avila at (408) 792-2926.
Stephen Gibbons, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Dale B. Lohman, Deputy District Attorney
Major Fraud Unit
(408) 792-2599 For Release on MAY 23, 2003 DEFENDANT ARRESTED IN IMMIGRATION FRAUD CASE The Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney has filed felony grand theft and perjury charges against a Southern California man named Michael Gan, aka Zheda Gan. Gan, 39, was arrested in San Jose on May 23, 2003. Gan, who is not licensed to practice law in California, falsely represented himself as an immigration attorney to a couple in Saratoga who hired him to handle their petitions for political asylum in the United States. When the INS denied their petitions, the couple was placed in deportation status. The husband subsequently died of a heart attack leaving behind two young children. The widow then hired a new immigration attorney who was able to get the deportation order reversed. She also sued the defendant civilly for breach of contract and fraud. Gan falsely testified in the civil proceeding that he had never told anyone he was an attorney, that he had not received any money from the victims, and that he was merely a translator who had assisted a local attorney who had represented the victims at an INS interview. The very attorney Gan claimed to have assisted, however, contradicted Gan’s testimony, as did an interpreter Gan had hired in the past. Gan failed to appear for the final day of the civil trial and the victim was awarded a $122,000 judgment. If convicted, Gan could face up to 4 years and 8 months years in state prison. It is believed that Gan may have deceived other individuals as well. Anyone with information or questions is encouraged to call Santa Clara County D.A. Investigator Michelle Avila at (408) 792-2926.