Businessman Sued by Immigrants : Courts: Lawsuit alleges that Jan D. Vouziers made false promises of legalization, bilking Ventura County workers out of thousands of dollars.

A network of immigration law practitioners headed by Orange County businessman Jan D. Vouziers was sued last week by Ventura County immigrant workers who were allegedly bilked of thousands of dollars.

The lawsuit alleges that Vouziers, under the fictitious business name of Oscar Salinas, made false promises of legalization in Spanish-language radio programs that were broadcast from the Central Valley to the Mexican border in the late 1980s.

The civil suit was filed in Ventura County Superior Court on behalf of six immigrants and the “general public” by the California Rural Legal Assistance. It seeks restitution and punitive damages for immigrants allegedly defrauded between 1986 and 1989. The amounts were not specified in the lawsuit.

Named as defendants were Vouziers, Ann R. Whetmore, Sybil J. Daly, Thomas F. Mullen, Gloria Santacruz, Gustavo Renstrom and Sergio Nubes.

Also named were H-2A Growers Service Inc., H-2A Agricultural Workers Program, Alien Visa Service Inc., Attorney’s Management and Financial Services, Hispanic Law Center Inc., and Southern California Immigration Inc., all companies operated in Ventura County.

Vouziers could not be reached for comment. His attorney of record, Lew Geiser of Laguna Hills, said he only handled the criminal case and had not spoken to Vouziers in months.

Vouziers, of El Toro, was investigated by federal and Orange County officials in 1989, but prosecutors said they were unable to put together a fraud case against him because the alleged victims were illegal immigrants reluctant to come forward.

However, as a result of the 1989 investigation, Vouziers was convicted of state tax evasion and sentenced to 90 days in jail, a $20,000 fine and three years of probation, said Jerry Johnston, the Orange County prosecutor who headed the investigation.

The federal Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service were also involved in the probe, Johnston said.

As a condition of his probation, Salinas was ordered to cease operating immigration-related businesses, Johnston said. “At least I put him out of business,” he said.

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday, Salinas enticed radio listeners with promises of well-paying jobs and residency for job holders and their families, and provided a toll-free telephone number to pursue applications.

“Defendants were then given the runaround as they were instructed to visit different offices throughout the state--such as Hispanic Law Center or H-2A Growers Service--as part of the application process,” said California Rural Legal Assistance attorney Stephen A. Rosenbaum.

In most instances, the workers were not even eligible for the visas and labor certificates being offered, the suit alleges.

Lilia Powell, director of the Orange County Coalition for Immigrant rights, said the lawsuit against Vouziers and his business associates was long overdue.

“It’s about time,” she said.