San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed a civil lawsuit against a disbarred immigration lawyer called “one of San Francisco’s most notorious predators.”
Herrera has detailed a “shocking pattern of corrupt and deceptive business practices” by Martin Guajardo, who was accused of “defrauding tens of thousands of vulnerable individuals out of millions of dollars” over a 35-year period.
“Guajardo has made a career of preying on the vulnerable, robbing countless immigrants of their assets, their families and their hopes to share in the American dream,” Herrera said.
According to Herrera, Guajardo targeted “virtually every immigrant group” in San Francisco, including Asian, Latino, and Russian communities through vigorous marketing and social outreach programs.
Over the course of three decades, Guajardo “took money out of the pockets” of immigrants seeking citizenship while accomplishing minimal progress in their cases. In some cases, Guajardo would deliberately inflate his fees by filing multiple rounds of unnecessary appeals, Herrera said.
Guajardo gave up his law license in 2008 after being suspended twice in the 1990s for charging illegally high fees and for incompetent representation. Shortly thereafter, the lawsuit alleges, he created the Immigration Practice Group at 555 Clay Street with the assistance of Christopher Stender, a San Diego-based attorney, who is also named in the complaint.
Stender, according to the lawsuit, acted as a “front” for the operation, orchestrating meetings between customers and Guajardo. Guajardo failed to inform his clients of his resignation from the legal profession even though he had filed an affidavit with the State Bar of California in 2008 attesting he had done so.
Mission District Supervisor David Campos stressed the importance of immigrant communities keeping vigilant for unscrupulous providers of immigration law. “Guajardo may be the worst offender, but he’s a cautionary reminder that there are others like him who similarly prey on immigrants and their families,” said Campos.
Campos added: “As important as this lawsuit is to stop Guajardo from causing further harm, it’s equally important that the immigrant community here in San Francisco be fully informed about the community-based organizations and reputable law firms that can represent their interests effectively and honestly.”
Guajardo and Stender were also charged with a separate, class action lawsuit on behalf of all clients that Guajardo had represented since his resignation from the State Bar.
The case, which is being handled by the law firm Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, seeks to “undo the damage the defendants have done to so many people that desperately needed help,” said Lynne Hermle, a partner of the firm.
“There is a crying need for justice in this case, and a need for those affected to be made whole,” she said.
Mark Silverman, director of immigration policy at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, called the city’s lawsuit “historic.”
“It’s vitally important to go after these abusive practitioners who prey on the hopes of immigrants and stop them,” he said.
“The most disturbing examples of cases I remember had a reasonable cost of $10,000 that would enlarge to over $60,000 by Guajardo,” Silverman said. “The victims would typically wind up with deportation orders thanks to Guajardo’s negligence.”
Anoop Prasad, a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, encouraged the need for local government to be a “stronghold of safety” for immigrants and advised clients to question suspicious activities of their lawyers.
“If your attorney asks or requests something unusual, just walk away,” Prasad said.
No criminal charges have been filed against Guajardo or Stender, but Herrera said that the city attorney’s office will be coordinating information with the district attorney’s office.
Orrick has established a multilingual telephone service for those who wish to participate in the class action lawsuit. That number is (415) 773-4266.
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