INS Worker, Husband Found Guilty of Collecting Bribes From Aliens

A federal jury in Los Angeles has found a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service examiner and her husband, a former INS employee, guilty of collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for approving permanent U.S. residency status for 36 Taiwanese.

The aliens posed as Buddhist monks and nuns in an attempt to use a federal law that grants permanent U.S. residency to foreign clergy if they have proof of a similar position awaiting them here.

Found guilty on Friday after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson were Dorothy Anaya, 39, of Pasadena, an INS employee for 15 years, and her husband, Robert, 48, a former criminal investigator with the INS.

Dorothy Anaya was convicted of 19 counts of conspiracy, false statements and bribery; Robert Anaya was convicted of nine counts of conspiracy and bribery.

According to Assistant U.S. Attys. James Berliner and Maurice A. Leiter, fraudulent permanent residence status applications were prepared for the 36 Taiwanese in 1981 and 1982.

At the same time, the prosecutors said, the Anayas bought more than $1.3 million worth of real estate in the Los Angeles area, with more than $600,000 in down payments.

“The evidence shows they had no legitimate source for this money,” Leiter said.

Alfred T. Lin, 50, of Northridge, a partner in Robert Anaya’s import business and a fugitive defendant in the case, actually prepared the documents for the aliens and received up to $40,000 per applicant, the federal prosecutors said.

Then, the government argued, Dorothy Anaya performed “illegitimate, perfunctory and incomplete interviews” of the fraudulent applicants and approved them for permanent resident status.

The Taiwan residents, mostly professional people, were in the Los Angeles area under temporary visas, the prosecutors said. INS officials indicated they would review the status of the 36 aliens, 10 of whom cooperated with the government, in light of the case.