Dozens of Fresno Immigrants Caught in National Legal Fraud Case

Over two dozen Fresno-area immigrants have registered for a federal class action lawsuit alleging that attorney Alexandra Lozano defrauded thousands of clients nationwide by filing fraudulent immigration applications without their knowledge. The Washington State Bar Association says her signature appears on more than 53,000 pending federal immigration cases.

Lozano’s firm, Luz del Camino Legal, operated an office near Fresno Yosemite International Airport until closing in May. The firm charged clients roughly $10,000 to $15,000 while allegedly fabricating claims of domestic abuse and human trafficking to qualify them for humanitarian visas—often without clients knowing what was actually filed on their behalf.

“I don’t think that the establishment understands the damage that this case has done to the reputation of lawyers,” said Vicente Omar Barraza, a Seattle-based co-counsel on The Lozano Civil Action. “Latinos already don’t trust lawyers because lawyers in the third world often are the handlers for the corruption, and most of my clients from Mexico and Central America don’t trust lawyers, and now they trust us even less.”

According to multiple lawsuits and a Washington state bar investigation, Lozano focused on high-fee humanitarian cases—including Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions and T visas for trafficking victims—while outsourcing much of the work to hundreds of employees in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina. Many clients never consulted a U.S.-licensed attorney.

Lozano permanently surrendered her law license rather than face disciplinary proceedings, though she denies wrongdoing. The federal lawsuit has expanded to include 34 plaintiffs and a request to freeze her assets, including a private jet. Court filings claim she earned more than $1.7 million between 2019 and 2021 from training hundreds of immigration attorneys nationwide to use similar practices.

Fresno immigration attorneys say the fallout extends well beyond Lozano’s former clients. “There’s a presumption of fraud by every VAWA applicant, as well as huge repercussions of removal at the border without even a chance to see a judge,” said Olga Grosh, a Fresno immigration attorney who has consulted with former Lozano clients. “People [are] being put into deportation proceedings, because of all of this.”

Many former clients discovered what was actually filed only during immigration interviews, when they learned their applications contained inaccurate or false claims. Some felt pressured to repeat those fabricated stories out of fear their cases would otherwise be denied for fraud.

Lazaro Salazar, another Fresno immigration attorney, said his office has consulted with roughly 25 to 30 former Lozano clients. Less than half appear to have cases that can move forward. The consequences are particularly severe for immigrants with prior deportation orders or immigration violations that could have made them ineligible for the relief Lozano sought.

Attorneys say Lozano deliberately incorporated religious imagery into her marketing—including posing with the Virgen de Guadalupe and providing legal services branded as charitable work—to build trust with Catholic Latino communities. Her firm’s Fresno office displayed glass candles and the words “proteccion, permiso, papeles” (protection, permission, paperwork) on the wall.

Carolina Castaneda, senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, noted that Lozano’s surname itself—taken from her legally separated husband Manuel Lozano Rodriguez—was likely chosen for marketing advantage. Her birth name is Alexandra Kennedy.

Many former clients cannot determine what was actually filed on their behalf because the firm provided only blank or incomplete forms when it closed. To reconstruct their cases, clients must file Freedom of Information Act requests with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—a process that can take months.

The Breakdown

• Alexandra Lozano’s law firm allegedly filed fraudulent immigration applications for thousands of clients nationwide, including over two dozen in Fresno, fabricating claims of abuse and trafficking to qualify them for humanitarian visas
• The firm charged $10,000-$15,000 per case while outsourcing work to employees in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina—meaning many clients never consulted a U.S.-licensed attorney
• Lozano surrendered her law license and now faces a federal class action lawsuit with 34 plaintiffs seeking to freeze her assets
• Many former clients only discovered the fraudulent claims during immigration interviews and now face deportation proceedings or are unable to determine what was filed on their behalf
• The fallout has created a “presumption of fraud” affecting all VAWA applicants, not just Lozano’s former clients

What This Means for You

For the specific immigrants affected in Fresno, the immediate stakes are deportation risk and debt after paying thousands of dollars for representation that may have done more harm than good. Fresno immigration attorneys say they are frustrated by what they see as a lack of action from government agencies to help affected clients sort out their cases.

What You Can Do

Former Lozano clients can file Freedom of Information Act requests with USCIS to obtain copies of what was actually submitted on their behalf. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has published a guide on obtaining complete records and next steps.

Attorneys urge former clients to consult a licensed immigration attorney or Department of Justice-accredited representative before withdrawing applications or responding to USCIS notices—withdrawing an application can trigger removal proceedings. Update your mailing address with USCIS immediately to avoid missing critical notices.

Former clients can sign up for the class action lawsuit through The Lozano Civil Action and should file complaints with the California Attorney General and the State Bar of California.

What to Watch

The economic logic here is worth questioning directly: why does a business model built on $10,000-$15,000 fees per case, scaled to 53,000 pending applications, generate enough revenue to fund a private jet and pay for outsourced labor overseas—yet still allegedly require fabricating claims to move cases through? Barraza said in an interview, “I don’t think she ever said no to anybody,” suggesting the firm’s model depended on accepting cases regardless of eligibility.

The real cost-benefit failure lands on the clients and the broader immigrant community. Clients paid premium fees for what appears to have been assembly-line fraud. The broader community now faces what attorneys describe as a blanket “presumption of fraud” that treats every VAWA applicant as suspect, including those with legitimate cases filed by competent attorneys. That’s a classic externality: Lozano’s firm captured the revenue, but the reputational and enforcement costs got socialized across an entire population of vulnerable immigrants and the attorneys who serve them honestly.

One other angle: Lozano allegedly earned $1.7 million between 2019 and 2021 from training hundreds of other immigration attorneys in her methods. The sources do not indicate whether those attorneys adopted similar practices, but the training operation itself suggests the potential for wider impact beyond the 53,000 cases bearing her signature.