KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video - Suspects in Immigration Assistance Scam Plead Guilty

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's Office says four Reno residents have pleaded guilty to their role in an immigration assistance scam. 

39 year old Charles Doucette, 40 year old Deborah Stilson, and 37 year old Shauna Shaw pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges for getting money under false pretenses. The fourth person, 37 year old Cybil Duran Berti was a co-defendant. She also pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses. 

State and federal authorities filed charges against the four after they started a business that conned people into believing they were employees with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Then they would tell people they could help complete and file forms with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

They also made duplicate checks with check payments and simply took no action with money orders but kept the victim's money. 

Their crimes actually kept some people from getting their immigration papers processed in time and some even lost their legal status. 

All in all, the Attorney General's office got 191 complaints against the different companies these four people ran and that sparked an investigation by multiple agencies.

Their sentencing is set for March 27^th. They could face anywhere from one to six years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 and restitution payments to the six victims willing to testify against them.