D.A. Says Pastor Stole Fees From Immigrants

A self-styled Glendale minister, accused of illegally posing as an immigration consultant and accepting money from Armenian and Lebanese clients for “green cards” he was unable to obtain, was arrested Friday at his mission.

District attorney’s investigators took Eli Khoury into custody at his Kingdom and World Mission of Our Lord Jesus Christ at 1250 S. Glendale Ave.

Khoury is charged with four counts of grand theft and one count of attempted grand theft. He is accused of promising to secure work permits for immigrants in exchange for fees, which he allegedly masked as donations to his storefront operation.

The criminal charges against Khoury followed a lawsuit against him by the state attorney general’s office. In that case, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eli Chernow in October issued a permanent injunction barring Khoury from providing immigration consulting services for fees and froze his operation’s bank accounts.

Khoury refused to cooperate with the attorney general’s office over the suit, missing two court appearances and several scheduled meetings, Deputy Atty. Gen. Jerry Smilowitz said.

Unless authorized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, it is illegal to charge for immigration and consulting services. The suit says that Khoury, who has been denied such authorization four times, charged clients up to $2,000 apiece to argue their cases for political or religious asylum before the INS.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia H. Horikawa said the criminal charges are based on evidence obtained by the attorney general’s office for use in the civil case, as well as on subsequent investigations by her office.

Horikawa said Khoury has posed as an immigration consultant for at least 5 years, charging for services he was unable to provide. She said he threatened dissatisfied clients with deportation and physical harm if they contacted authorities.

Five immigrant clients have agreed to serve as witnesses in the case, the prosecutor said.

Khoury was being held in the Glendale City Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court on Monday.