By Howard Koplowitz
An Ozone Park man allegedly preyed on immigrants from Trinidad in South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill in an immigration scam that netted him roughly $100,000, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Nazim “Tony” Hosein, 36, of 106−43 95th St. in Ozone Park, was arrested last week and arraigned before Queens Criminal Court Judge Ira Margulis on grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a forged instrument and scheme to defraud charges, the DA said.
He was held on $100,000 bail and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, Brown said.
“The victims in this case are all hardworking immigrants who bought into the defendant’s alleged assurances to hasten their American Dream and trustingly turned over large sums of money to him,” the DA said in a statement. “Instead of a brighter future, they found their dreams quashed by the defendant’s alleged unscrupulous actions and their money gone.”
Hosein allegedly took $91,800 from seven victims, Brown said.
He allegedly met with the victims, Trinidadian immigrants from South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill, at various locations in Queens between Aug. 1, 2007, and October 2008, telling them he knew someone who worked at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan who can get them green cards, Social Security cards and work permits for fees ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, Brown said.
Some of the victims were given forged documents by Hosein and he told others to meet him Oct. 10 at the federal building to get the papers.
Those who were told to meet him at 26 Federal Plaza were waiting for Hosein for nearly five hours, not realizing that he was actually on a plane to Trinidad.
Brown and Port Authority Police Superintendent Samuel J. Plumeri Jr. urged anyone who thinks they may have been scammed by Hosein to call Port Authority Police Department Detective Dewan Maharaj at 201−239−3500 or the PAPD’s Suspicious Activities Hotline at 1−800−828−7273.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e−mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 173.
