Filipino immigrants in the United States have fallen victim to a California-based scam allegedly orchestrated by one Salve Esperanza, a fake attorney whose unauthorized law practice has been shut down by the State Bar of California.

Operating under the name Prestige Network Resource Consulting Inc., Esperanza targeted immigrants with false promises of securing legal residency. On 21 November, the State Bar raided her office on Olympic Avenue, seizing 30 boxes of client files and five computers as part of an ongoing investigation.

State officials said Esperanza exploited numerous Filipinos, preying on those seeking legal status.

In one case from 2019, a Filipino couple paid over $11,000 (approximately P640,000) after believing Esperanza’s assurances that she had successfully helped many of their compatriots in similar situations. She advised the couple to enroll at a Los Angeles university for student visas and work at a specific employer.

After nine months, the couple discovered that their application had been denied due to missing critical documents that Esperanza had failed to file. The husband later alleged that Esperanza’s true intent was to exploit him and his wife as workers rather than help them attain residency.

In another instance, a Filipino family paid approximately $12,000 (around P698,000) over three years for immigration services, including a Green Card application.