Immigration scammers targeted

A West Hills man accused of visa fraud became the posterboy of a nationwide crackdown on immigration scam artists launched Thursday by local and federal officials. C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

The arrest of Carlos Alberto Silva, 29, at his Canoga Park business this week was announced as officials unveiled a multi-agency effort to target notarios - the Spanish word for those offering legal advice, representation or other services on immigration issues even though they are not qualified to do so.

The notarios who take advantage of confusion between notario publicos - which in Latin American countries, are specialized lawyers - and notary publics, which witness document signings in the U.S., take off with thousands of dollars in upfront fees they charge immigrants without delivering services, officials said.