3 CHARGED IN PLOT to AID SMUGGLING 450 INTO OUR COUNTRY - JOKE of HOMELAND SECURITY?

August 16, 2011
3 Charged in Plot to Aid SmugglingBy ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
Three people, including a Manhattan lawyer, have been charged with helping to smuggle hundreds of illegal immigrants into the country, the United States attorney in Manhattan said on Tuesday.

In a scheme stretching back at least five years, the authorities said, they helped smuggle more than 450 people into the United States in exchange for a total of nearly $1 million. The accused were identified in court documents as Hak Tung Lam, a lawyer who specializes in immigration; Wen Wo Lam; and a woman referred to as Ying Yang.

The suspects advised smugglers on vulnerable points of entry and gave tips on how to avoid being detected by, for example, hiding in a bathroom for at least 30 minutes after arriving at an airport so that immigration authorities would not know where they had come from, according to the authorities.

Once the immigrants were in the country, Mr. Hak, Mr. Wen and Ms. Yang helped them stay, according to court documents. They’re accused of filing false immigration documents and recruiting people to act as sponsors, encouraging them to lie about their relationships with the immigrants.

“For Hak Tung Lam, zealous representation of his clients — a group of international alien smugglers — allegedly meant assisting them in breaking the law,” said Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan.

Mr. Hak, 44, and Ms. Yang, 30, both of Flushing, Queens, and Mr. Wen, 43, of Staten Island, were arrested on Tuesday and released on bond. If convicted, Mr. Hak would face a maximum of 25 years in prison, and Mr. Wen and Ms. Yang would each face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Lawyers for the suspects did not return calls for comment on Tuesday night.