Mission Chief, Accused of Bilking Aliens, to Be Arraigned

A self-styled Glendale minister accused of stealing thousands of dollars from immigrants through an illegal immigration consulting operation is scheduled to be arraigned today in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Elie Khoury, 49, director of the Kingdom and World Mission of Our Lord Jesus Christ, is charged with three counts of grand theft and one count of attempted grand theft. He allegedly posed as an immigration consultant, promising to secure work papers for immigrants in exchange for fees.

In a preliminary hearing last week, Los Angeles Municipal Judge Edward L. Davenport ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to bring Khoury to trial.

Three immigrants testifying for the prosecution said they gave Khoury a total of $5,700 between January, 1985, and August, 1986, in exchange for his promise to represent them in Immigration and Naturalization Service proceedings. They said he promised to refund their money if they did not receive resident alien cards.

They alleged that he neither represented them in the proceedings nor refunded their money.

Attempted Grand Theft Charge

The attempted grand theft charge was filed in connection with a fourth immigrant, who testified that Khoury tried to bilk her, but she did not pay him his full fee.

Davenport dismissed a fifth grand theft charge because the witness involved was unable to testify at the hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michele Bouziane said.

Khoury’s legal counsel, Deputy Public Defender Leon F. Hitch, argued at the hearing that Khoury was a misguided businessman who did not intend to defraud his clients.

According to Bouziane, Khoury has been posing as an immigration consultant for at least 5 years, charging for services that he was unable to provide and then threatening dissatisfied clients with deportation and physical harm if they contacted authorities. Khoury allegedly masked fees by claiming that they were donations to his storefront operation at 1250 S. Glendale Ave.

Khoury, who is not an ordained minister, holds weekly “masses” at the mission and distributes food to needy immigrants at the conclusion of services.

The criminal charges against Khoury follow a civil suit filed against him by the state attorney general’s office in October. The suit charges that Khoury told his clients that he was authorized by the INS to charge for immigration and consulting services. Khoury has in fact been denied such authorization four times.

In the civil suit, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eli Chernow in October froze the bank accounts of Khoury’s operation and issued a permanent injunction barring him from providing immigration consulting services for fees.

Khoury has been in custody since his arrest Dec. 2 and remains jailed in lieu of $15,000 bail.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 6 years in state prison.